Low-quality housing ‘could get green light in Greater Cambridge’ due to government target changes

Low-quality, unaffordable developments could get the green light in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire due to “inflexibility” from the government in introducing “arbitrary” new housing targets, councillors have warned.

Greater Cambridge has lost what is known as its “five-year land supply” after the Labour government hiked the targets overnight and allowed no transition period, they said.

Councils that cannot demonstrate that they have identified sites to meet housing demand over this timeframe must redress the balance by tilting planning permission in favour of developments, rather than considering them on a neutral basis.

Cllr Bridget Smith, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Liberal Democrat leader, said: “The Labour government’s inflexibility risks compromising that, with potentially low-quality, unaffordable developments that don’t deliver on the needs of South Cambs residents.”

And Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, the council’s lead cabinet member for planning, argued: “The government has made things incredibly difficult for councils to demonstrate five-year land supply by implementing a change mid-year and without allowing for any transition period.”

The district council and Labour-run Cambridge City Council work together on planning under the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, which in April 2024 had sufficient land supply for 6.5 years.

The number of new homes anticipated for the five-year period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029 was 11,190 homes. But in December, the government enforced new targets, raising the number of homes required from 8,630 to 12,100, effective immediately, meaning Greater Cambridge’s housing land supply has dipped below the five-year mark.

The Conservative opposition at the district council said the government’s “plans to carpet bomb Britain with houses” would have big repercussions.

Cllr Heather Williams, the leader of the Tory group, said: “The fear of uncontrolled development in South Cambridgeshire has now become a real-life threat with the council losing its five-year land supply.

“This is not just about where houses are built. It’s about our communities, some of which may grow out of control as a consequence – putting more pressure on local schools and GP surgeries. That is the cold reality of what will happen now as a result of Labour’s decision to move the goalposts without warning.

“Since Labour took power nationally, I have raised my concerns that, in their blind-sighted ambition to hit their housing targets and to recover from their poor economic strategy, the residents of Cambridgeshire will suffer. This is yet another blow for us as guardians of our green spaces, who truly care about getting the right houses in the right places and protecting our countryside from unrestrained bulldozers.

“The Lib Dems at South Cambs need to address this quickly and efficiently.

“The repercussions of this will be to the detriment of South Cambridgeshire’s residents – and the Lib Dems’ hands are not clean. They supported a Labour government when they chanted ‘anything but Conservative’ – and we are all now going to pay for the politics of hatred.”

Cllr Hawkins, however, argued that the Lib Dems’ “ambitious approach to growth” in recent years meant the gap to fill was “small”, adding: “We have a path to regaining our five-year land supply and doing so quickly, and this is a priority to make sure developments in Greater Cambridge deliver for our communities and our residents’ needs.”

Cllr Smith added: “Building new, high quality affordable homes is a priority for us and has been for the entirety of our administration. We’re working hard with our Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service to make sure our land supply quickly returns to being above five years, despite the shifting sands of the new government’s policy.”

Meanwhile Labour’s Cllr Katie Thornburrow, Cambridge City Council’s executive councillor for planning, building control and infrastructure, took a different view.

She said: “We welcome the government’s ambition to increase the rate of building new homes as we are acutely aware of the housing affordability crisis which greatly affects Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire in particular.

“Planning officers will explore options to remove barriers and speed up the delivery of the 36,000 new homes that already have planning permission in Greater Cambridge.”