Water scarcity group convened as government unveils major expansion plans for Cambridge

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced ambitious expansion plans for water-scarce Cambridge, including the development of a whole new quarter featuring 6,000 homes as well as schools, parks and some 100,00 square metres of commercial life science research space.

A new £5m Cambridge Delivery Group has been tasked with taking immediate action to address water scarcity constraints, by:

• convening a Water Scarcity Working Group with the Environment Agency, Ofwat, central and local government and innovators across industries to identify and accelerate plans to address water constraints – the group will look at accelerating the build of the proposed new Fens Reservoir; and

• ensuring new developments are as sustainable as possible, including examining whether new houses in planned developments such as Waterbeach and Hartree can be made more water efficient. In addition a £3m retrofit pot will be created to improve the water efficiency of existing homes and commercial property across Cambridge, to help offset demands created by new developments in the local plan.

Anglian Water will need to work with partners to relocate a treatment works in Northeast Cambridge to unlock the new city quarter.

The government said it planned to use land value capture and would explore recommendations about what a reasonable premium to landowners should be to enable the expansion. The Cambridge Delivery Group will lead on identifying the housing, infrastructure, services and green space required and the options for an appropriate delivery mechanism for planning, land acquisition and engagement with developers.

The announcement was part of a long-term plan for housing. On top of existing plans to regenerate 20 towns and cities, DLUHC announced transformational change in Cambridge, central London and central Leeds, as well as inner-city densification and further housing delivery across England.