Influential organisations including leading companies have put a five-point plan to the UK government to underpin the continued growth of Cambridge.
A summit in the city today warned that Cambridge was at a crossroads and needed a vibrant strategy of tax and investment incentives – allied to continued infrastructure improvements – to maintain momentum.
Business leaders warned that the next wave of growth could be held back unless action was taken now.
The initiative includes five asks, which include an innovative framework designed to help Cambridge secure its own infrastructure funding.
The framework includes tax increment financing and imaginative funding approaches for local authorities to attract private investors.
The Case for Cambridge, co-driven by Cambridge Ahead, engendered unanimous support for the plan of action from the city’s top companies, education leaders and local authority figures.
The blueprint for growth was officially unveiled at the summit, held at the Cambridge Union.
Jane Paterson-Todd, CEO of Cambridge Ahead ̶ a key member of the partnership – said: “The city is a major contributor to the UK’s prosperity, with an outstanding record of business success and is home to a world-class technology cluster, with over 4,500 knowledge-intensive companies within a 25 mile radius.
“It has a GVA per capita 34 per cent above, and unemployment 25 per cent below, the national average. Despite this, we’re an economy that has yet to achieve its full potential.”
She said Cambridge had a dynamic economy and a proven track record of high value, accelerated growth. But there was concern that the city was at a crossroads − poised for the next wave of growth but held back by a need for infrastructure investment.
This concern is voiced by the partnership of key organisations which believes that Cambridge is yet to achieve its full potential. It is being held back by inadequate public transport coupled with chronic road congestion, a shortage of housing with prices amongst the highest in the country, a low supply of commercial office space, and poorly-funded schools, they argue.
The Case for Cambridge is an ambitious initiative designed to convince Whitehall of the urgent need for investment in infrastructure, housing and skills to ensure the city’s continued expansion.
Approaches have already been made to the Government and the political importance of the initiative was recognised by the presence of three Cambridgeshire MPs at today’s launch. Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, was joined by MPs Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire) and Lucy Frazer (South East Cambridgeshire).