Anthony Browne MP: ‘The government is spending £7bn in South Cambridgeshire – meanwhile, Lib Dems and Labour are propping up unelected GCP’

By Anthony Browne, Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire

How would you spend £7billion? The government has the answer – it is spending it right here, investing in South Cambridgeshire.

£300million was announced last month to build the cutting-edge Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital. This sits on top of £200m for the new Cambridge South Station, which complements £5bn being spent on East West Rail. This sees new stations at Cambourne and to the south of St Neots, which will themselves be connected by a £900m dual carriageway road and junction improvement plan on the A428.

That’s before we get to the unprecedented spending in life sciences and R&D. As a genuine world-leader, South Cambs will see a huge share of a £650m life sciences war-chest the Chancellor announced last week. Designed to fire up the UK’s life sciences sector and drive forward economic growth, it includes £121m to bring new medicines to patients faster, up to £48m of new money for scientific innovation, £154m to increase the capacity of the UK’s biological data bank, and up to £250m to incentivise investment in our most promising science and tech firms.

The little things add up too. From the millions invested in bringing more police officers onto our streets than ever before, to the £1.3m for new pitches, goalposts, and changing facilities to Sawston, Girton, Swavesey and Cottenham, we are seeing the kind of investment South Cambs has never seen before. Put together, it is about £7bn in investment for local transport infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences.

But I don’t believe in spending for spending’s sake: what matters is outcomes. So what do we get for all this money?

The cancer research hospital will not only provide specialist care for our residents but also use world-leading genomics to advance the fight against cancer. This will not only lead to earlier diagnosis and better survival rates, but will mean many currently untreatable cancers become curable.

The transport improvements will vastly improve the quality of life for many of those to the west of my constituency, particularly in Cambourne. The single lane A428, frustratingly slow at the best of times and often gridlocked in the morning, will become a dual carriageway. The new station at Cambridge South will transform the ability of tens of thousands of people to get to the Biomedical Campus every day, relieving traffic on the roads in South Cambridge without the costly environmental damage.

But what about East West Rail? It will allow you to get from St Neots to Cambridge in around 20 minutes, and from Cambourne to Cambridge in about 10 – a dramatic improvement for thousands of residents frustrated with the slow commutes into work. But there are significant concerns. The benefits of East West Rail for those living in Cambourne is little comfort to those in villages towards Cambridge whose homes will be impacted.

The project does have its fans, but I will continue to represent all views in this debate. It needs a clear business case. It cannot lead to new waves of housebuilding, and cannot have diesel trains. I have campaigned successfully to get the high embankment down to ground level (or below) along most of the route, dramatically reducing the impact. I have also campaigned for those whose house value has been hit to be able to sell their home at full pre-EWR value, and I am glad that anti-blight scheme was introduced earlier this month.

Contrast that with the Lib Dems and Labour. Their idea of investment in the city is to spend millions on virtual wall around it, taxing you for the privilege of passing through in your electric car or on your motorcycle with the congestion charge. They also tried to delay Cambridge South station, and then decided to bulldoze Coton’s ancient orchard for their extortionate C2C busway project. With EWR confirmed, C2C, which also goes from Cambourne to Cambridge, should be canned. Its time has now gone.

Lib Dems and Labour are propping up an unelected power draining our taxes, as they let the Greater Cambridge Partnership run amock. We are yet to hear how the GCP will respond to the huge majority of its own consultation responses wanting the congestion charge dropped.... or indeed if this engagement is any more than an exercise in listening with closed ears.

Despite the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic and cost of living crisis, this Conservative government is getting on with the job and delivering on the priorities of the British people. Government investment in our area will make a real difference to people in South Cambs, helping working families, supporting businesses, and building up our public services so that everyone gets the world-class facilities they deserve.