Pennycook wants collaborative approach in Cambridgeshire

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has written to local leaders across Cambridgeshire to underscore the area’s “vital role” in boosting prosperity, economic development and living standards across the UK. The letter, sent to mayor of Cambridgeshire Nik Johnson and local council leaders Bridget Smith, Lucy Nethsingha, Mike Davey and Elisa Meschini, is a call for collaboration between local and central government. In the letter Pennycook writes: “We believe that the recent focus on Cambridge and its untapped economic potential are entirely warranted. The city’s strengths in knowledge-intensive businesses and its unique innovation ecosystem are well documented, with strong connections between investors, researchers, businesses and local government. The economic growth of Cambridge has been a phenomenal success, and we should seek to maximise the potential contribution that Greater Cambridge could make to the UK economy.” He adds: “Success has clearly come with costs; expensive housing, traffic jams and air pollution are daily concerns for many residents and risk deterring those who want to live, work and study in the city. Cambridge is also one of the most unequal places in the UK, a sign that the benefits of its economic success have not been shared by all. “I know that local partners in Greater Cambridge share the government’s high ambitions for sustainable economic growth. While I recognise that in recent years much has been delivered, there remain significant barriers to realising the area’s full potential. The deputy prime minister and I are determined to help remove them and overcome the issues that have held up planned development for essential housing and laboratory space.” He says the region has a vital role to play in the Labour government’s mission to kick-start economic growth, highlighting the “many crucial decisions” that remain to be made about the form that ambitious and high-quality sustainable growth takes in the area. Pennycook has called for an in-person meeting with local leaders to “reset the work and relationship” with central government. Photo from UK Parliament licensed under CC by 3.0