Housing minister dismisses 250,000-home Cambridge expansion report as ‘speculation’

The government’s minister of state for housing and planning has dismissed reports of a plan to build 250,000 new homes in Cambridge to turn it into the ”Silicon Valley of Europe” as “speculation”.

Rachel Maclean MP was asked if a report of major Cambridge expansion plans which appeared in the Sunday Times over the weekend was true during the Built Environment Committee meeting on Tuesday. 

“It was a report in the national newspapers based on speculation. It was not, let’s be clear, an announcement,” Maclean said.

“What was published in the Sunday Times was speculation taken from various leaked documents that had been provided in whatever ways these leaked documents are provided. 

She added: “I can’t comment on the speculation, but I can say this is not currently government policy.”

The Sunday newspaper reported that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is behind a “Cambridge 2040” plan which could see between 200,000 and 250,000 houses built in the area by that date. 

It also reported that large swathes of land would be set aside for business parks, laboratories and science hubs to boost economic growth.

Maclean was responding to a question raised by Baroness Cohen of Pimlico regarding how such rapid expansion in Cambridge could be achieved when the Environment Agency has already flagged up a shortage of water for existing housing plans in the region. 

Maclean remarked on the need to grow the UK economy by supporting “world leading industries such as life sciences”.  

She said, “The one thing that’s stopping investment in the UK is we haven’t got enough laboratories. In Boston, Cambridge, they’ve got something like 1000 times the amount of wet labs that we have in the UK. 

“So it would obviously be wrong of the government not to start thinking about how to solve this problem, notwithstanding the very real, practical issues that exist on the ground.

“I think it is very important that the government has a long term approach to these things. But on the specifics of Cambridge or anywhere else, the Secretary of State will be making announcements in due course in the usual way.” 

The Environment Agency has made objections to planning applications for 5,000 homes in Cambridgeshire due to concerns the additional water supply necessary will “pose a significant risk” to the environment.

Among the development schemes the EA has objected to are proposals for 425 homes north of Cambridge North Station, plans for 3,500 homes at Bourn Airfield to the east of Cambourne, and up to 1,000 homes proposed for the second and third phase of the Darwin Green development.

The Sunday Times quoted an unnamed source who described  “It is basically large-scale growth, taking the local plan and putting it on steroids. The idea is that Cambridge becomes the Silicon Valley of Europe.”

>>See also: Cambridge ‘not consulted’ on 250,000-home growth plan

>> See also: Ox-Cam arc housing held back by road and rail scheme delays

Responding to the report, Cambridge city council said it noted the “speculation”, but that “the city council has not been consulted on these ideas, which we note are described as being at the ‘concept’ stage.”

South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne MP described the idea as “ludicrous” and “not worth the paper it’s written on”.

A spokesperson for DLUHC did not deny the report, and issued the following statement: “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 one million new homes this parliament.’