Government to empower Cambridge DevCo to fund and deliver water infrastructure

(by Karma Loveday)

The Greater Cambridge Development Corporation will have powers to plan, fund and deliver water infrastructure. That’s according to Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary under secretary for housing, communities and local government, who last week spoke in a House of Lords debate on the future of Cambridgeshire and the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation.

Multiple peers raised water supply and wastewater capacity constraints as fundamental challenges to government plans to grow the city. Baroness Taylor said: “The Government will continue to work closely with partners to ensure that water scarcity is not a constraint on development in Cambridge. The development corporation will have powers to directly plan, fund and deliver essential infrastructure to support regeneration, including utilities such as water. This includes the ability to lay connecting infrastructure for water mains and sewerage on sites delivered by the development corporation. There will be an opportunity for the development corporation to trail blaze across sites ambitious water efficiency approaches that can inform wider policy development and approaches in Cambridge over time.”

She said no new homes in Cambridge are currently blocked by water scarcity issues. In December 2024, the Environment Agency lifted its objections to blocked development following improvements in Cambridge’s Water Resource Management Plan and progress made by the Cambridge Water Scarcity Group, including to unblock planning applications for 9,000 homes. She added that the Government’s Water Delivery Taskforce’s work to resolve wastewater constraints meant that over 18,000 homes across East Anglia, Lincolnshire and the home counties are a step closer to being built.