City Council monthly update November 2026

Council

Councillors heard a petition signed by 1,900 people on Cambridge’s Growth, calling for a review of the impact of major developments and transport policies.

River Cam

The Jesus Green River wall project budget was increased from the £850,000 approved in October 2024 to a maximum of £2.441 million. The increase in cost related to the fact that the wall needed to be rebuilt from the river rather than the river bank.

A grant from Cambridge Water of £1.9m will be used to restore projects across the chalk stream network. A further grant will be sought for pollution mitigations schemes for Hobson’s Brook.

The Cabinet also noted the many environmental improvement projects being undertaken including work at Sheep’s Green, the work on water scarcity and wastewater capacity, and the adoption of watercourse land drainage bye-laws.

Loan to Cambridge investment partnership (CIP)

A further loan to the CIP of £12million was made on the same terms as the existing loans. The loan is secured on the assets of the CIP and must be spent on developments at Newbury Farm, ATS/Murketts Histon Rd, and Fanshawe Road.

Motions

Action on racial equality

Brought by the Greens this asked for more action on racial equality measures within the council. It was passed unanimously.

Herbicide-Free Weed Management

This was brought by the LibDems and asked for a review on the weed management process, the effectiveness of the machinery used, transparent reporting of progress so the public (and councillors) can find out when the weeding will take place. It also asked for an appropriate budget to be allocated to this work. It was amended by both Labour and the Greens but only the Labour amendment was passed.

This motion was brought by Labour. LibDems and Greens sought to amend it but only the Green amendment was passed. LibDems abstained but the amended motion was passed. It called for the sharing of data by the County council with the city council on roadworks.

Data sharing for Citywide Roadworks

Voting on Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) Board

Proposed by an independent (now Green) Councillor, this suggested that the person representing Cambridge City Council on the Board of the GCP only vote for proposals brought to the board after they have been considered by the Council. This is impracticable and was voted down after no debate as we had run out of time.

Civic Affairs

Badges are to be awarded to consorts of Mayors in recognition of their support to the Mayors.

City of Sanctuary – the committee reaffirmed Cambridge’s commitment to be a City of Sanctuary and heard how the main groups of refugees are Ukrainians and Afghanistan. There have been over 1,000 of them, successfully resettled. The council has helped through providing English language and employment support.

Pensions

There is concern that the pension fund is investing responsibly. Another issue that is often raised is that the pension fund should not invest in Israeli companies. This is a summary of the position.

There is a great deal of information on the City pension website: https://pensions.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ including the investment strategy statement here: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fpensions.westnorthants.gov.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2FInvestmentStrategyStatementCPF2023.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

In addition, the fund publishes on a quarterly detailed schedule of its investment holdings here is the latest: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fpensions.westnorthants.gov.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2FCopy-of-Investment-Holdings-300626-CPF-Publication.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Under the Local Government Pension Scheme (Pooling, Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2026, setting the Investment Strategy is the responsibility of the Pension Fund Committee of Cambridgeshire County Council, as administering authority. In addition, the Local Pension Board, comprising representatives of fund members and employers, performs an oversight role and is engaged during its formulation.

In setting the Strategy, the Pension Fund Committee is required to have regard to statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State. In summary, the guidance provides that administering authority:-

• The primary obligation is to act in the best financial interest of the fund.
• may only take non-financial considerations into account if this does not involve risk of significant financial detriment.  
• should exercise caution against undue influence from campaign groups whose positions may not reflect the views of members.
• The responsible investment approach should not set exclusions for investments in individual countries, investment styles or companies.

The Cambridgeshire Pension Fund is currently consulting on a new draft Investment Strategy. This includes a Responsible Investment policy which seeks to go beyond the minimum required to comply with relevant regulations and demonstrate good practice. Such as Good Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and stewardship practices, supporting the objectives of the Paris Agreement, a “just transition” to a low carbon economy

Subject to adoption, this updated Investment Strategy will serve to support the ESG goals of the fund and the council, without exposing it to the potentially significant legal risk associated with a country or sector-specific boycott.

PAS Scrutiny

Homes England Strategic Partnership

Cambridge is one of only three councils outside London to win a Strategic Partnership with Homes England, bringing in £96m. This unlocks the council’s own £584m programme. That programme will deliver nearly 3,000 new homes by 2036, including 1,400 council homes. At least 60% of the council homes will be at social rent, which is 40–45% of the market rent.

First schemes to benefit: Fanshawe Road, and Hanover & Princess Court. Hanover & Princess Court will have 72 council homes, 44 of them at social rent.

Arbury Court and Kingsway:

2–48 Brackley Close and 2–48 Rutland Close (even numbers) will be added to the redevelopment.

This raises the number of homes from 410 to 487, with council homes going up from 206 to 245. It also creates new open space. The budget rises to £103.2m. 223 households will need to move, over several years.

Davy Road: council homes rise from 45 to 57, and homes at social rent from 5 to 34. The budget rises to £20.2m. A planning application is due this autumn, and building could start by summer 2028.

Overall: 55% of the homes across the council’s development sites are council homes, above its 50% target.

HMOs

At the moment, a home can be turned into a small house in multiple occupation (HMO) for up to six unrelated people without planning permission. The council proposes a legal measure called an “Article 4 Direction” so that these conversions would need planning permission anywhere in Cambridge’s urban area. South Cambridgeshire is considering the same for adjoining areas such as Orchard Park.

It doesn’t ban HMOs, and it doesn’t apply to existing ones. The aim is better-quality HMOs and better control of problems like noise and rubbish, not fewer of them. HMOs provide relatively affordable housing for students, key workers and healthcare staff.

There are about 1,727 HMOs in the city, around 3% of homes. They are concentrated around Mill Road and Anglia Ruskin University.

A council study found no link between HMOs and crime or anti-social behaviour, but some link with complaints about noise and rubbish.

A six-week public consultation will start in November and Cabinet will decide in early 2027.

The rules would take effect a year after that decision, expected in early 2028. Waiting a year means the council doesn’t have to pay landlords compensation.

Planning and development management

26/00039/FUL Ekin Road Redevelopment  – Approved

The application was made by the Cambridge Investment Partnership, the joint venture of the council with Hill and was for the demolition of existing dwellings and redevelopment to provide 134 new dwellings, parking, open space, landscaping and associated works.

26/02109/FUL Christs College Library – Approved

An identical application was submitted last year which was put under judicial review by the Christ’s Lane Action Group (CLAG). This was based on a small discrepancy in the papers which the council immediately admitted. CLAG refused to stop the judicial process only to have the case thrown out. This was a new corrected version and was also approved. However, the Secretary of State has put the application on hold until they can review it.

The application is for the demolition of 1970s library and replacement with new library, social and study spaces including re-provision of bridge to the Bodley Library.  Alterations to kitchen, Upper Hall and adjacent areas.

26/00672/FUL 23-27 Kings Hedges Road – Approved

This application was made by the Cambridge Cyrenians and was for the siting of five modular homes to provide accommodation for homeless people and an office for support staff, along with access and services.

26/00641/FUL 40 Barton Road – Approved

Change of use for an existing 6-bedroom house in multiple occupation (Use Class C4) into a 7 bed, 7 person large HMO

26/01403/FUL Chapter House, Howes Place, Cambridge, CB3 0UW

This was a retrospective planning permission for the provision of postal lockers at Chapter House, a two and a half storey building comprising 68 studio apartments located on the northern side of Huntingdon Road between Howes Place and Lawrence Weaver Road.

If you want more detail on any of these applications, put the reference number for that application into the search box on this Planning service webpage: https://applications.greatercambridgeplanning.org/online-applications/

Cabinet

Cost of living

In this area there are the following things going on:

Since the change of Prime Minister in July, the Government has announced a number of initial measures to address the cost of living including:

• Removing VAT from domestic electricity.
• Reducing the national cap for a single bus fare from £3 to £2.
• Expanding access to free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support.
• Tightening the rules on branded school uniform.
• Introducing new rules on subscriptions.
• Taking action against businesses offering misleading discounts.
• Introducing tougher regulation of bailiffs to improve treatment of people in debt.
• Strengthening consumer protection against rogue traders.

A national Cost of living taskforce has been established.

Cambridgeshire County Council has allocated £1m to district councils in 2026/27 to deliver place-based projects to support low-income households. Cambridge City has been allocated £230k, which is the largest district allocation. This funding will support 7 projects that meet the CRF criteria, plus some contingency:

• Furniture Poverty research report and innovation challenge (£60,000)
• Food Justice Alliance coordinator (£39,000)
• Food Bank volunteer coordinator (£20,000)
• Top up contribution to CRF Housing Payments (£25,000)
• Finding Help Forum: Personalised budgets (£30,000)
• Utilities debt rebate and income maximisation support (£25,000)
• Cambridge Money Advice Service (£5,000)
• Contingency (£26,000)

The CRF will also fund county-wide support, which will benefit households in Cambridge and other districts:

• £800k over three years to Citizens Advice to deliver income maximisation services.
• A crisis support fund to replace the Cambridgeshire Local Assistance Scheme (CLAS).
• Financial support to roll out the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) across all districts.
• A new countywide grants scheme to tackle poverty and its impacts

The City Council has a subscription to the LIFT data platform, which is designed to help local authorities identify and support low-income families to maximise their income and reduce costs. They have used LIFT to run several campaigns targeted at low-income households, but have not captured the outcomes of these campaigns. For example, the Benefits team has used LIFT to identify and write to an average of 80 people per year who are eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming it. South

Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire councils are jointly funding a LIFT Programme Lead post and funding from the CRF has been used to recruit a LIFT officer in each authority. The LIFT team will be running a number of targeted campaigns in Cambridge in October and November, including campaigns on Pension Credit (targeting 164 eligible households) and Healthy Start (targeting 391 households). Outcomes from these campaigns will be captured using data from DWP and other sources. The team will also be implementing the Utilities Rebate project funded by the CRF, which will provide financial support and income maximisation advice for people with utilities debts.

Officers are also exploring potential campaigns for 2027, including promoting take-up of Reduced Water Tariffs, Broadband Social Tariffs and Disabled Facilities Grants, as well as joint ‘Aging Well’ events with health partners to raise aware of Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and falls prevention support.

The Council administers two main benefits for low incomes households:

• Housing Benefit – providing £21.5m support in 2026/27 with housing costs for council tenants, housing association tenants, private renters and people in temporary accommodation.
• Council Tax Reduction – providing £10.9m support in 2026/27 for eligible households. It also uses DWP data to auto enrol Universal Credit claimants.

The council also gives £1.1m to local voluntary groups, support through Community Centres, Financial Inclusion and Visiting Support teams who provide practical assistance with maximising income by e.g. assisting with benefits claims, investing £15m to improve energy efficiency of approximately 370 council homes, plus some assistance to those living in private accommodation, and giving admissions discounts at council leisure centres.

Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for anti-social behaviour driving

There is already one in place for Babraham Park and Ride. This would be a city-wide one. Cabinet agreed to launch a call for evidence. Councillors asked that such evidence did not require people to get up in the middle of the night and give very specific data such as number plates which they will be unable to see from their beds.

Leisure Contracts

The existing contracts were expiring and so the council reprocured these services. The contract has been awarded to Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) again and will run for 10 years with an option for a further 5 year extension. The contract covers Abbey Leisure Complex, Cherry Hinton Village Centre, Jesus Green Lido, Kings Hedges Learner Pool, Parkside Pools and the Council’s splashpads and paddling pools. It is designed to allow other eligible sports facilities to join. Trumpington Academy is expected to join through a separate Community Use Agreement

The contract requires £8m of investment in the facilities and lower carbon infrastructure.