Cambridge set for 250,000 homes under government plan

The city could become a ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’ under plans to build 250,000 homes, according to reports.

Between 200,000 and 250,000 new homes could be delivered under the proposals – which are still to be formally announced by the government – in addition to new business parks, laboratories and science centres.

Proposed transport links including a new railway line, tram lines and bus connections are also mooted under the concept plans, dubbed Cambridge 2040, The Times reported on Saturday (8 July).

Cambridge City Council said in its own statement that it had not been consulted on the idea, which a source told The Times would put the existing local plan ‘on steroids’ to create a ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’.

The city has plans for 50,000 new homes by 2041 and it is not clear what sites would be covered by the 200,000-plus homes.

Housing secretary Michael Gove will likely outline the proposals ahead of the upcoming general election, along with the final version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

An end to five-year housing targets, the introduction of local design codes and a greater emphasis on ‘beautiful design’ are among the proposed changes to the NPPF, which is due to be published this autumn.

Responding to those proposals in March, the British Property Federation (BPF) warned the government that removing housing targets was an obstacle to building the 300,000 homes it committed to in 2019.

The RIBA said in its own response to the proposed changes to the NPPF that the idea of ‘beauty’ was contested and only one element of good place-making.

Gove and his Levelling Up department has long championed beauty in new developments and, according to The Times, the proposed Cambridge homes will likely follow government guidance on beautiful design, in line with the NPPF changes included in the Levelling Up bill going through Parliament.

A government spokesperson said: ‘We are determined to help more young families own a home of their own – and that means working with local communities to build more of the right homes in the right places.

‘We know that development is only welcomed when new homes are beautiful and built alongside new GP surgeries, schools and transport links.

‘Our reforms have democracy, environmental enhancement and new neighbourhoods at their heart and will help us reach our target of 1 million new homes during this Parliament.’