Key workers priced out

Cambridge housing and planning research has a report out at the moment called “Housing the Cambridge Workforce”, but it’s a problem researchers may not have to worry about for much longer. That’s because Cambridge is overheating. Not just a little, but a lot. Fuelled by the success of its hi-tech industry, house prices are rocketing and traffic congestion is so bad that it is becoming a major barrier for companies considering moving there. With the average house in Cambridge reaching the £160,000 mark, things are fine for the few scientists who have made it rich quick, or those commuting into highly paid London jobs. But support staff are increasingly being pushed further and further outside Cambridge’s city limits. Jon Hutt, director of FPDSavills, calls this social apartheid. “Think about it logically,” he says, “we have a situation where only those who earn large sums of money can live in the city, so we have a skills shortage and that just adds to congestion on the roads.” Houses are expensive so people have to live on the fringes and travel in, but public transport is not good and that leads to major traffic problems, he adds. Cambridge overheating is nothing new. The county’s success as a hi-tech centre for excellence is well documented and the Cambridge phenomenon has inevitably acted as a magnet drawing workers from far and wide. Although the exponential growth of technology firms has now slowed, the industry’s expansion shows no signs of dying out. According to Cambridgeshire county council nearly 13,000 new jobs will be added to the county’s payroll by 2006. Economic fears But more jobs equals more people, which can only mean more cars and pricier houses. It is a problem that, allowed to romp ahead unchecked, threatens to snuff out the city’s roaring economy. Service sector staff are a significant problem for Cambridge. William Mooney, director of Januarys, tells a tale of when Tesco opened a store in Cambridge and was forced to recruit from the North West. “When they opened the store nobody wanted to work in it. Staff came down from the North West, realised how expensive it was and then went home,” says Mooney. “There is definitely a problem getting service sector staff.” The question is: is this just growing pains or a sign of a catastrophic breakdown? “The difficulty of finding labour is the key issue in Cambridge at the moment,” explains Jonathan Burroughs, commercial development partner at Bidwells, agent for Cambridge Science Park. There is a lack of housing supply, and what is there is expensive and that acts as a negative force, he explains. “There has to be housing provision and there has to be public investment in infrastructure if this market town is to grapple with its international role,” he adds. “Because of problems in recruiting staff, they need more housing provision for key workers,” says Bidwells’ Burroughs. Addenbrooke’s Hospital, one of Cambridge’s biggest employers, knows all about this problem. Between May and September last year the hospital lost 5,000 bed days, equal to 30 beds or one ward permanently closed, owing to lack of staff. Things will have to improve if the hospital is to carry out its 2020 vision. This masterplan will revamp 70 acres around the hospital and is currently at draft structure stage. Plans include extending the hospital to include a new medical care centre, a bio-medical science park and Cancer Research UK lab. To do this, Roger Cutting, capital planning manager at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, believes that a number of issues need to be addressed, including affordable housing. According to a study by Cambridge University’s department of land economy, commissioned by Addenbrooke’s, for a single person to buy a small terraced house in Cambridge they would have to earn £30,800 a year. The study is due to be published this month and Cutting hopes this will provide further evidence for local planners when they contemplate the draft structure plan on affordable housing. Unable to wait, the local chief fire officer has taken drastic action. In a pioneering move, Tom Carroll has handed over land surrounding the fire station to the hands of developers. In exchange for a fire prevention lecture room, and some affordable housing for key workers, Carroll has allowed Highland Homes to build apartment blocks. If the scheme is successful then the concept could be used in other parts of the country where housing is an issue. John Granger, partner at Carter Jonas, advisers to Cambridge fire and rescue services, says discussions are at an early stage but the council has been very supportive so far. Cambridge’s other solution has been to roll back the green belt. “The green belt has caused more problems than it has solved,” says Glynne Stanfield, partner at Eversheds. This swathe of green land tightly binds the city centre and Stanfield believes has suffocated rolling developments out of the city. As a result, the city can only house around 100,000 people, but roughly 200,000 work in Cambridge. This does not bode well for economic growth, says Stanfield, and without action the city will stagnate. Pushing housing out of the centre has caused its own problems. “The residential market is a real problem for employment, so most people move to villages and travel in – hence the congestion,” says agent Michael Sumpster at Barker Storey Matthews. The problem is, says Januarys’ Mooney, that modern traffic is travelling on a medieval street system and plans to ease this are laughable. “The park-and-ride is successful but the final encouragement for people to use it is questionable.” Although the council plans to add to the existing park-and-ride, the lack of bus lanes means the park-and-ride buses hit the same traffic. “Where is the incentive? People would rather sit in their cars with their CD players and air-conditioning,” says Mooney. A lot of the problems are simply Cambridge growing up and coming to terms with its relatively newfound fame. “Yes, it’s expensive to live and work,” admits Jamie Green at Bidwells, but he says:”It’s the calibre of science that keeps the people coming and it is not enough to put off worldwide companies, or those with world class aspirations.” Mooney similarly defends the town’s prospects. “There is an employment issue and the cost of living is not dissimilar to London,” he admits, but: “Cambridge is always seen as a little jewel.” Cambridge office development pipeline “There is an There is an oversupply of office accommodation but a continuing strong demand for laboratory facilities” Scheme Building Developer Size (sq ft) Status Comments Agent Cambridge Science Park, 418 Trinity College/ Trinity Hall 36,800 Under construction Completion June 2003 JanuarysMilton Road Lakes Business and Phase one, Technology Park Upstream Developments & MPM Properties 140,000 Under construction Region of £18 per sq ft. Consent for further 60,000 six buildings Cambourne 3000/4000/5000 6020/6030 Development Securities/ Morley 350,000 Open B1 consent FPDSavills/ATIS Weatheralls Capital Park CPC2 Capital & Counties/ MPM Properties 27,000 Available for prelet CB Hillier Parker/Januarys Capital Park CPC4 Capital & Counties/ MPM Properties 38,900 Available for prelet CB Hillier Parker/Januarys Capital Park Phase two Capital & Counties/ MPM Properties 162,000 Outline consent CB Hillier Parker/Januarys Buckingway Carisbrooke Investments & Alfred McAlpine 9 acres B1 consent Januarys/FPDSavillsBusiness Park Wellbrook Way, Girton GRIP 22,000 Available for prelet Cambridge Plot 1,000 Slough Estates 370,000 B1 consent Considering wet laboratory feasibility FPDSavills/Gerald Eve/IREResearch Park Buckingway Unit 8A Carisbrooke Investments & Alfred McAlpine Special Projects 25,000 Open B1 consent Will divide to provide 12,500 sq ft on each floor FPDSavills/JanuarysBusiness Park Office and industrial (sq ft) There is an oversupply of office accommodation Jun 2002 Dec 2002 Offices 4,480,000 4,943,000 Total existing stock Availability 3,994,886 3,666,924 Demand 775,137 588,469 Life sciences Total existing stock 1,062,000 1,129,000 Under construction 250,960 277,000 Demand 305,500 212,500 Industrial Total existing stock 2,595,000 2,470,000 Availability 86,300 78,000 Demand 487,000 306,000 Source: Bidwells Top rents achieved (£ per sq ft) Industrial rents peaked in 2000 Source: FPDSavills