Cambridge partners must tackle congestion and housing shortage together
Date: 30/03/2009A new independent report by the Centre for Cities published today calls for the wider Cambridge region to come together to tackle congestion and housing shortages, or the area will struggle to sustain its economic growth and quality of life in the future.
The city of Cambridge drives the wider regional economy, providing around 90,000 jobs to residents across a wide geographic area. This makes up around half of the over 170,000 jobs spread across Cambridge's official travel to work area, spanning Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire.
Cambridge is one of the best-performing cities in the UK and is relatively well-placed to withstand the impacts of recession. The city has the second highest qualified workforce - that earns the fourth highest salaries - of any UK city.
But the flip side of the area's recent economic growth and growing popularity is congestion and housing shortages. By 2021 over 12,000 additional Cambridgeshire residents are expected to make a daily commute into the city by car, and lower paid key workers have been priced out of the Cambridge area housing market.
This independent report recommends:
- The six local authorities with Cambridgeshire Horizons and the Greater Cambridge Partnerships (GCP) that make up the wider Cambridge labour market should work closer together to pursue a common transport, housing and economic growth agenda that will benefit the whole area.
- A Cambridgeshire wide effort is needed to tackle congestion. Cambridgeshire County Council should decide, within the next six months, to pursue its congestion charging bid while the funding is still available. In the interim, Cambridge area partners need to take practical steps such as a tube style map of the wider Cambridge region's public transport services, further encouraging car clubs and re-phasing traffic lights to combat traffic congestion in Cambridge.
- Partners across the wider Cambridge region should take a new approach to the housing shortage, by buying up lower value land and housing during the recession and in the longer term working with institutional investors to develop further the private rented sector in the city.
Lena Tochtermann, the report author from the Centre for Cities said:
"The wider Cambridge region is one of the UK's biggest urban success stories, supporting around a quarter of a million jobs across the wider local area. But with added pressure on its transport networks and housing supply, the city is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. To safeguard future economic growth the six local authorities that make up the Cambridge labour market will need to work closer together to tackle these problems."
For more information about the report, please contact Rosamund Taylor, Acting External Affairs Manager, Centre for Cities: 0207 803 4316 / 07876 175 426 / r.taylor@centreforcities.org
For comment on the report findings from Alex Plant, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Horizons please contact Laura Halstead, Communications Manager, Cambridgeshire Horizons: 01223 714176 / laura.halstead@cambridgeshirehorizons.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Cambridge: Closing the gap is available upon request or at www.centreforcities.org/cambridge
Cambridge is a Partner City in the Centre for Cities research programme ‘Unlocking City Potential and Sustaining City Growth'. The programme works closely with a small group of cities (Belfast, Brighton, Bristol, Hull, Sunderland, York) to inform economic development strategies and improve economic performance.
Its partners in Cambridge are Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Horizons, the Greater Cambridge Partnership and the East of England Development Agency.
On 26 January, Centre for Cities launched Cities Outlook 2009. This report ranks the economic performance of 64 of the UK's largest cities and towns. A Cambridge fact sheet is available upon request.
