City Council Update October 2025

Civic Quarter

This has been a topic of debate at both Scrutiny and Cabinet last month. The City Council have put together 3 very different projects that are all located together in the centre of the city and have put forward proposals for rejuvenation.

Market square

The square is currently a magnet for anti-social behaviour and difficult to access if you are disabled. The proposals to mitigate this, consist of an element of de-mountable stalls, smoothing over the setts, making the area greener while keeping the fountain and cycle parking. This is projected to cost £14m. There is no financial return for the money spent but it will be a big improvement to the city centre with consequent benefits for the surrounding businesses. The enjoyment and safety of the public will be hugely increased with an improved market experience and also the enjoyment of the square where open space will be created.

Corn Exchange

The corn exchange is a beautiful historic building that currently has a few issues. It is restricted in its capacity due to fire regulations and the building is extremely expensive to run as it does not have modern insulation. It also needs refurbishment. The project seeks to rebuild the roof with insulation and PVs, upgrade the acoustic and video equipment and improve the main bar and increase the food and drink offering by using Parson’s Court. This will cost £26m. However, unlike the market square renewal, it is a commercial proposition as the refurbishment will result in increased income for the council. A full business case has not yet been prepared.

Guildhall

This building is also not sustainable and needs to be retrofitted for the future. It is not fully utilised and should be considered together with Mandela House which houses most City Council office staff. The proposal is to retrofit and refurbish the building so that it can house all council office staff and thus free up Mandela House to be sold or rented out. It will also create office space available for rent. This will cost £52m. This does allow the council to make substantial savings (by closing Mandela House) but there will likely be a very long payback period. However, this is desirable as it keeps the centre for civic life in Cambridge, thus supporting the town centre. We do not know exactly how the Local Government reorganisation (LGR) will be decided but all constellations of district councils to make up the unitary have Cambridge as the largest settlement and the centre of public transport networks making it unlikely that the new unitary council offices will be anywhere other than Cambridge.

Scrutiny recommended and Cabinet agreed that of the 4 options presented, approval for only a capital budget of up to £4.4m to fund the technical design development, finalise the costings and submit the designs for planning approval was given. We will know more about the LGR when the next decision is made.

9 September Performance Assets and Strategy (PAS) Scrutiny Committee

Other items considered by the PAS were:

1. The consultation for setting the budget for next year which will appear shortly
2. The procurement framework for the repairs and maintenance of housing stock which are in need of improvement as outlined in last month’s report.

More details can be found in the agenda here:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=534&MId=4641

11 September Development Control Forum

This considered two petitions, both for and against the proposals for the new Christ’s College Library. The petitioners for, stated that it would improve study and workspace for students, improve their wellbeing and improve accessibility and facilities in the building. Those against, were worried about the effect of the building on Christ’s Lane which might turn into a ‘canyon’. It was a very busy thoroughfare and needed to be made more attractive to the public. Further details in the minutes here:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=190&MId=4756

25 September Cabinet

Further items considered by Cabinet this month were:

1. Greater Cambridge Impact: this is a company set up as a vehicle to make increased social investments into Cambridge by bringing in private capital. A ‘seed capital’ contribution from the Council of £1m was agreed in 2023, with the idea that this would encourage other parties to also invest, having seen the visible and large commitment by the council to the project. The Cabinet decided to make the cash investment now rather than waiting for the £6m target amount to be raised as was originally envisaged. The amounts raised from others are close to the target and currently in the process of being internally approved. The cash will be paid if the target is not met and so the council is protected.

• Climate Change Strategy and Urban Forest Strategy were also approved for public consultation ahead of making the final decisions next year. There are five areas of focus:
• Working to reduce the council’s own emissions and increase climate resilience
• Supporting the city in reducing emissions and increasing climate resilience
• Protecting and increasing our nature and biodiversity
• Achieving better outcomes for people’s daily lives – with lower bills, cleaner air, more comfortable homes, greener neighbourhoods, with new job opportunities and stronger local economies
• Ensuring that our climate change strategy is fair and inclusive, to deliver a just transition, so that those most affected by climate change are not left behind and the benefits of addressing climate change are shared widely and felt by all

To give a brief overview of the current situation:

• Total gross greenhouse gas emissions (2024/25) 3,871 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
• 8.1% lower than 2023/24
• 51.9% lower than the 2014/15 baseline.
• Council’s direct responsibility: 0.7% of total city emissions in 2023
• Finance monitoring report covering April to June and also the 2024/25 Treasury management reports were issued.
• In the period April to June, the council kept to its budget. There were overspends in crematorium services, pay issues in the City Services department following the restructuring which were offset by overperformance in car park income, higher commercial income in waste services and planning income.
• the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was overspent by £1.8m due to repairs including damp and mould and security and fire safety risks outlined last month, higher voids and agency staffing costs.
• The capital account benefitted from the £17m underspend on Park Street carpark/hotel.
• The Treasury management report showed that the council is within its borrowing limits and prudential indicators.

More details here:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=532&MId=4632

1 October Planning

The planning committee only had minor planning applications to consider on Lovell Road, Histon Road and Short Street none of which were in the ward.

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=181&MId=4618