MHCLG pulls funding for Cambridge sewage works relocation

Plans for housing growth in Cambridge were dealt a blow on Friday when Cambridge City Council shared that the Government had pulled funding for Anglian Water to relocate its wastewater treatment works, to make development space available north east of the city.

The council said the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) would now not provide funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund as the relocation had become “unaffordable” due to cost escalation. This is thought to be in the order of £400m and to derive from the rising costs of materials and labour and disruption to global supply chains.

Anglian Water was granted a Development Consent Order to move the sewage works in April to a greenbelt site at Honey Hill, which is between the villages of Horningsea, Fen Ditton and Quy on the outskirts of Cambridge.

The current works, in north east Cambridge, was due to make way for the new Hartree urban quarter, hosting 5,600 homes and businesses near the new Cambridge North station, and being developed under a partnership between the council, Anglian Water and others.

Cambridge City Council said the plot was the last major underdeveloped brownfield site in the city and that the space could in total have hosted 8,500 homes, two schools and other community facilities, and 19 hectares of open space.

Cllr Cameron Holloway, leader of Cambridge City Council, said: “The council has been working with Anglian Water and Homes England on this project for over seven years, and has made sacrifices to try to get it over the line, including putting £13m of council additional investment at risk by, for example, moving the depot used by our operational teams. So, we are very sad that this project will not be going ahead.”

David Barnetson, programme director at Anglian Water, said: “Whilst it’s disappointing that the project won’t now go ahead, we’re committed to supporting Cambridge and the wider area through its rapid projected growth, whilst continuing to protect customers and the environment. Our teams are reviewing all options to increase capacity to support growth at our existing treatment works in Cambridge.”

The news came after Thames Water reported significant cost escalation for its SESRO reservoir development.

• Anglian Water has marked 20 years of its @One Alliance. The team – which features Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, Mott MacDonald Bentley, MWH Treatment, Skanska and Sweco alongside Anglian – was introduced in AMP4 (2005-2010) and has since delivered nearly £4bn of investment. It is set to deliver three-quarters of that value again over the next five years: 750 projects worth over £3bn under AMP8.

When it was launched, the @One Alliance pursued a unique outperformance commercial model, under which the team was tasked with delivering schemes below Anglian Water’s target cost – allowing the company to reinvest efficiency savings into new projects.