Cambridgeshire's Anthony Browne MP to fight housing plan for city

The Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing is seeking to rapidly expand the number of homes in Cambridge to boost the science and tech economy

A Tory MP said he would fight a plan to build 250,000 homes in Cambridge.

Anthony Browne, MP for South Cambridgeshire, was responding to a Sunday Times article that reported on plans from Michael Gove.

The document called "Cambridge 2040" proposed building the homes over two decades to support investment in the sciences and technology sectors.

The scheme is part of the housing secretary's project to turn Cambridge into the "Silicon Valley of Europe".

Mr Browne said: "It also will not happen: there is no water for these houses."

In response to the article, a government spokesman told the BBC it would be working with local communities to build more of the right homes in the right places.

'Enormously destructive'

"Our reforms have democracy, environmental enhancement and new neighbourhoods at their heart and will help us reach our target of one million new homes this Parliament," he said.

Mr Browne said: "I had no knowledge of this and, needless to say, I will be fighting it. It would be enormously destructive of our environment and way of life.

"I have already made my views clear to Michael Gove, the housing secretary, and will discuss it with him next week."

Cambridge City Council said it had not been "consulted on these ideas, which we note are described as being at the 'concept' stage".

"As the planning authority, the council would expect to be fully engaged in any proposals and the decision-making regarding the future of our city," it added.

Anthony Browne MP believes the city of Cambridge and wider area cannot sustain a 250,000 housing expansion

The Sunday Times said the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) plans "envisaged a huge expansion" of Cambridge and the surrounding area, which has about 150,000 residents.

DLUHC, it said, intended to start "identifying large swathes of land to construct new business parks, laboratories and science hubs".

It claimed the proposals would capitalise on the London, Oxford and Cambridge triangle to "unleash new life into the sciences and technology sectors".

The Sunday Times understood officials discussed new rail lines as well as bus and tram network to support the expansion and boost to the economy.

Plans for better connectivity between Cambridge and Oxford has already seen the development of the £5bn East-West rail link whose route was made public in May.

Cambridge has been dubbed as Silicon Fen for two decades after many start-ups moved in just before 1998.

Cambridge Science Park opened 52 years ago, comprises of 150 acres of technology and laboratories and is home to 7,000 people and more than 170 companies.

County councillors voted against having a referendum on plans for a congestion charge

Councils in Cambridge have recently been consulting on a congestion charge for drivers and struggles to support the demand for homes.

In 2022 Chaucer Road in Cambridge was identified by mortgage provider, Halifax, as the most expensive street in the East of England at £4.2m per average home.

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