Concerns about who will benefit from £400m growth

About £400m has been pledged to boost growth in Cambridge, but councils have raised concerns over housing, infrastructure and the affect on residents

Politicians and party members are questioning whether a £400m investment in Cambridge will benefit both businesses and residents.

The funding, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, is part of a £500m package to "kickstart" the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and aims to support housing, infrastructure and business expansion.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and the Green Party shared their views with the BBC, and argued the plans must work for all.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Kinsley, chief executive of DIOSynVax, a Cambridge University biotech spin-out, had ambitions to double her team from 20 to 40, but said the city needed the right infrastructure.

Reeves announced the multimillion-pound investment package as part of a bid to create "Europe's Silicon Valley" in southern England.

She said the Growth Corridor could add £78bn to the UK's economy by 2035 and has committed to funding the East-West Rail link joining Oxford, Cambridge, Bedford and Milton Keynes.

In Cambridge, the new money will go towards the development of affordable homes, with plans to launch a consultation on forming a new centrally led development corporation to support the growth of the city.

"Any country would be falling over itself to get a hold of something like the Oxford-Cambridge corridor," said science minister Sir Patrick Vallance

Science minister, Sir Patrick Vallance, emphasised Cambridge's role in driving innovation and said the goal was to keep start-ups in the UK and create jobs that benefit everyone.

"We need to create the jobs of the future," he said, adding that doing so would help unlock more private investment.

Ms Kinsley, from DIOSynVax, told the BBC: "If we don't have the infrastructure for people wanting to come... then I think the number of spin-outs will see a decline, [as well as] a decline in the knowledge intensive companies in the area."

Sarah Nicmanis, the former Green Party parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, said the city's growth so far had not been inclusive and wealth had "not trickled down".

Sarah Nicmanis questioned who the growth was for, adding many people who worked or grew up in Cambridge could no longer afford to live there

"People come from all over the world to visit Cambridge and they have this idea about it being very affluent, and being quite distinguished and having a high status," she said.

"But there are many people who don't have a share in that wealth, who can't access it."

The Conservative mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, welcomed the investment, but warned it must work for everyone.

"If growth is not working for someone who lives in a one-bed flat in King's Hedges, then we are perhaps doing something wrong," he said.

"Cambridge needs to be enhanced... it's internationally significant, but we have also got to level up in Peterborough, the Fens and the rest of Cambridgeshire."

Lucy Nethsingha, the Liberal Democrat leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said the investment was "important for the wider UK economy, but we want to ensure this much-needed growth also benefits and involves local people".

"The chancellor has recognised the lack of public transport, affordable housing and infrastructure we need to address," she said.

And Labour's Cambridge City Council leader, Cameron Holloway, also welcomed the funding, but told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that "key challenges" must be addressed to ensure the benefits were shared.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged that despite world-class universities, Oxford and Cambridge still lacked affordable housing, public transport and infrastructure.

She said the government's plans would boost growth and build an economy that "works for working people".