There is quite a bit to report this month on planning and economic development in the Greater Cambridge area and all that goes with it. It is clear that the government is determined to press ahead with an agenda for significant growth and to tackle, head-on, the obstacles to it such as water shortages and transportation issues. They have set up the Cambridge Growth Company (CGC) to facilitate the growth agenda and I have commented below on a meeting held by SCDC\u2019s Scrutiny Committee with the senior staff of CGC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SCDC Breaks Record for New Council Houses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SCDC has just confirmed that the council has completed 113 new Council homes since 1 April 2025 – the highest annual number achieved surpassing the previous year\u2019s record of 91 homes and with over two months of the financial year still to go. 11 of these new homes are in Over<\/strong>. Many of these new homes feature renewable energy systems and electric vehicle (EV) charging points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Low Income Dashboard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SCDC has released a new dashboard which will give a better understanding of the demographics of low-income households in South Cambridgeshire. The dashboard has been built by SCDC officers using anonymised<\/em> data from the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) software platform which uses benefits data held by the Council. The main aim of the LIFT software is to identify low-income households and to encourage them to claim benefits to which they are entitled, something it has been doing very successfully for some months. It is hoped that the information contained within this new publicly available dashboard will provide insights and support decision-making across the district. You are invited to try the system and it can be found here: Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) Data Dashboard – South Cambs District Council<\/a>. You will see that you can select data by district or by specific wards. If you have questions or comments, please contact data@scambs.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Consultation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The government continues to press ahead with its policy of abolishing county and district councils and combining their functions within larger unitary authorities. A seven week public consultation has been promised for February (though no details yet) and in advance of that, South Cambs District, Cambridge City and East Cambridgeshire District councils have published a video<\/a> and a news release<\/a> which set out the position of the three councils, which is to support option B, i.e. two unitary councils, one for North Cambs\/Peterborough and another for Cambridge City\/South Cambridgeshire. The intention of this content is to engage local people with information about why the three councils believe this is the best option for the area but the public and stakeholders will be reminded that there are other options on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can watch the video here<\/a> and read the news release here<\/a>. SCDC\u2019s website section on LGR<\/a> will be updated when we receive new information from Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cambridge Growth Company (CGC)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SCDC\u2019s Scrutiny and Overview Committee recently had a (very long) meeting with Peter Freeman and the staff of the Cambridge Growth Company. It is clear that there are very big plans for our area and I came away unclear as to how the various bodies (CPCA, GCP, councils and planners) will gel with the CGC. I note that parish councils are soon to have a similar meeting and both Willingham and Over councillors are to attend. Maybe they can make sense of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local Plan update – Growth in South Cambs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The councils\u2019 annual look at how well its 2018 Local Plans are being delivered \u2013 through an Authority Monitoring Report for Greater Cambridge Shared Planning – confirms that despite challenges around water and other infrastructure, in the period from April 2024 to March 2025, permission for over 10,000 new homes was granted. 2,265 new homes – of which 700 were affordable homes – and over 60,000 square metres of new employment space – were constructed across Greater Cambridge. I\u2019m sure that Mr Freeman will read this with interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Community Infrastructure Levy Plans\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SCDC and Cambridge City Councils are currently considering proposals for the introduction of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) strategy for securing contributions from developers for improvements to transport and other infrastructure to accommodate growth. A CIL would also see a proportion of the funds collected – up to 25% where a Neighbourhood Plan is in place – being made available to local communities. Alongside these the councils are also considering the adoption of updated guidance on Section 106 Planning Obligations that accompany major planning application decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n