Month: May 2025

Can Cambridge Grow to Be Happy?

On Friday May 15 I was at Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge to hear Peter Freeman talk about his work as chair of the Cambridge Growth Company

You can see the recording on YouTube and the slides on the GCP website, while Anthony Carpen has his usual excellent write up.

The event was called ‘Making Cambridge a Happy City’ and had been organised by the Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations to give Peter, appointed by the government to be chair of the Cambridge Growth Company, a chance to talk about his vision on issues like water, housing and infrastructure.

I was there to listen, not speak, because as a councillor responsible for the planning service I have many opportunities to make my voice heard.

It was really useful to be there and hear from Peter, but even more helpful to get a sense of the issues that concern people as they asked questions.

We want to work with the Cambridge Growth Company, and Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, to deliver a shared future vision for Greater Cambridge.

As we move forward to finalise the emerging local plan I know that meetings like this, and the wider public consultations we have planned, will be very important.

Thinking About Tomorrow’s Cambridge

Sunny spring weekends are a great time to take it easy and reflect on the year so far, with time to sit outside a favourite cafe or spend an evening in a great pub garden.

It’s been a busy year for me as a councillor, with lots of ward issues to resolve for residents, the local and mayoral elections, and of course many many conversations about the future of Cambridge City under emerging government plans for local government reorganisation.

Discussion about the future development of Greater Cambridge is going to get more intense in the coming year. It’s a challenging time, with lots of different bodies taking an interest in the city and what happens next and we expect to be talking to all the other groups involved, such as the Cambridge Growth Company.

For me the two things that have shone through are the commitment of everyone involved to do the best for Cambridge and those who live, work or study here, and understanding that we need to work together to come up with solutions, because no one group or person has all the right ideas.

It’s something that matters to every one of us, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts, explaining what’s happening, and pushing for Cambridge Labour’s vision of what local government should look like to deliver a city that is fair for all.