A new development corporation is to oversee a massive expansion of Cambridge, Michael Gove has announced.
In a speech on planning reforms on Tuesday at the Royal Institute of British Architects in central London, the Housing Secretary said his vision for the area will “exemplify what it means to fall back in love with the future”.
In the summer, the Cabinet minister announced plans for a new urban quarter in the city to bolster its status as a science and technology capital.
He argued that its growth is being slowed by a lack of laboratory space and new housing.
The scale of development we're talking about will require an upfront investment that's commensurate with our level of ambition across both the public and private sector
Housing Secretary Michael Gove
Tens of thousands of new homes are also to be built around Cambridge under the proposals.
On Tuesday, Mr Gove said: “Nowhere is the future being shaped more decisively than in Cambridge. Its global leadership in life sciences and tech is a huge national asset. But until now, as I pointed out, its growth has been constrained…
“Delivering our vision means laying the groundwork for the long term and that starts now.
“We will establish a new development corporation with a broadly-based board to steer its efforts. These we will arm with the right leadership and the full range of powers necessary to marshal this huge project over the next two decades.”
The new statutory body will have the power to compulsorily purchase land.
Mr Gove added: “We recognise the scale of development we’re talking about will require an upfront investment that’s commensurate with our level of ambition across both the public and private sector.”
The plans for the city’s enlargement were previously opposed by Tory MP for South Cambridgeshire Anthony Browne, who in July pledged to “do everything” to stop the “nonsense plans to impose mass housebuilding on Cambridge”.
Such opposition is often motivated by concern about the impact on local resources, with Mr Brown saying the area has “quite literally run out of water”.
To allay such concerns, on Tuesday Mr Gove announced “new steps to help manage demand for water in new developments” and promised to say more about new sources of water supply in the new year.
“Our vision for Cambridge has been to exemplify what it means to fall back in love with the future,” he said.
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“It’s going to set the standard for how we protect and preserve what makes a city special, and also how we design and equip it for the century ahead.”
Housing minister Lee Rowley told LBC Radio that Cambridge is a “great British success story” but has the potential be an “even bigger, world-leading city”.
He insisted the new homes will be built in a “sensitive way, in a careful way, recognising that there’s a lot of very pleasant land around Cambridge”.
