Cambridgeshire

The leading matter for Cambridge is growth. The government is unequivocal in its support for an ‘ambitious’ growth strategy for Cambridge to ‘realise its full potential’.  

The Cambridge Growth Company now has a team in place to draw up this plan, consult on it across 2025, and have it ready for February 2026, along with a recommendation for how it will be delivered.  It will need to dovetail with the Greater Cambridge Joint Local Plan, so it will need to be something extra to the Local Plan both in terms of quantum and to accelerate delivery.

A further complexity is the recent election result for a Conservative Combined Authority Mayor, who is also set to have some Plan-making powers.

Then throw in the local government reorganisation with the Government saying there will be no district councils in place following the reorganisation, which will mean change across Cambridgeshire.

Growth is certainly the ambition and agenda.  It now needs a clear plan and one that can cut through competing levels of government.

Five-Year Land Supply

Development Plans that are more than 5 years old are subject to the Standard Method when calculating their 5 year housing land supply. The majority of the Council’s within the County maintain that they can demonstrate a five year land supply. However, Huntingdonshire’s Local Plan to 2036 is now over 5 years old and the current 5YHLS is 4,430 homes equivalent to 4.03 years’ supply. Therefore, there is potential for development opportunities here to come forward as the tilted balance towards the presumption in favour of sustainable development is engaged (paragraph 11d of NPPF).