Why is Cambridge unable to ease its housing and cost of living crises?

Posted byCambridge Town OwlPosted inUncategorized

Former councillor Sam Davies pointed me to some of the threads on the Reddit Cambridge boards to get some more extended takes on what’s happening in and with our city

In particular the threads on:

One reason for raising these is because so many of the civic society meetings or events I go to these days seem to be lacking in anyone under the age of 40.

Back in October 2024 I moaned that Cambridge was not the ‘World’s greatest small city’ despite what people paid to market Cambridge in such a way might say to you.

Where are all of the young adults in our civic lives outside of the workplace?

The only time I seem to see a critical mass of them is at events that their employers have paid for them to be at – in which case it is them they are representing rather than their own viewpoints. Given that younger adults are disproportionately less likely to be in positions of power than say older, educated, affluent men, what is it about the structures of our city, its economy and institutions that mean so few are taking part and being heard?

Back in May 2025 I mentioned how younger adults were conspicuous by their absence at a couple of gigs I had been to in Cambridge. Over the past few days I have been to a number of gatherings, events, and meetings (it’s a tricky balancing act with CFS/ME as it has meant coming back home during the day, sleeping/recharging for a few hours, and then heading out again later on) and there was a similar pattern.

Does the structure of Cambridge’s housing market ‘design out’ young adults from civic life?

  • Think of the long hours that many have to work in order to cover extortionate rents that take up far greater proportions of their income than is sustainable (as I found out the hard way when I lived in London in my civil service days)
  • Think of the long commutes that many have to undertake – and the time that takes out of people’s days that could be spent doing other things
  • Think of the high membership and user fees that have to be charged to hire out halls/venues in a city with very high land prices
  • Think of the poor reliability of bus services which make people think twice about committing to something (ditto traffic and parking in Cambridge)

I know I’ve only covered a few things in the list above. With my 20s now half-a-lifetime away from me, I’m not going to pretend I know what it’s like in great detail for today’s generation.

“But the institutions are already aware of this and are already working hard to deal with this!”

…some might say in response. Or perhaps appeal to the lack of resources provided for them as is genuinely the case with local government in Cambridge. I’ve been speaking to a number of council staff in recent weeks about how tough things are financially, and also how appeals for commercial and corporate sponsorship for community events has largely been ignored by the so-called wealth-creating sectors.

“The different communities and sectors across Cambridge should find new, innovative and genuinely inclusive ways of coming together with a clear shared purpose.”

Above – Limb (2025) p33, quoted in On Cambridge’s inequalities vs innovation (CTO May 2025)

“Who is best placed to lead the way?”

Not Lord Browne according to this list of opponents to his candidacy for Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. (You can see his list of names supporting his nomination here – note the former Conservative ministers in the list!)

Note the former BP CEO and oil baron was the person appointed by Gordon Brown’s Government to oversee the review of higher education that brought in the much higher tuition fees post-2010. And what a stitch up that was, as more than a few called out at the time.

“I remember Peter Mandelson coming to me before the 2010 general election, he was the [Labour] deputy prime minister, and saying “we want to put up student fees, tuition fees, but we can’t do that before an election, its too difficult for Labour, why don’t we set up a report, and while you as Conservatives hopefully want to see the tuition fees go up so that the universities are better funded, why don’t you sign up to this commission and it can report after the election?”

Above – Former Chancellor George Osborne to former Education Secretary Ed Balls, quoted by Prof Danny Dorling in The Conversation, 03 Oct 2023

It remains to be seen how many voters in that election (as a town person I have no vote) if any might be swayed by this. One of the few candidates (and the only one I know in person) to mention the wider city is Tony Booth – co-founder of Friends of the Cam.

“Cambridge University is a powerful influence in our city. Many groups are deeply exercised by plans for massive city expansion with the involvement of the University and colleges, in the hottest, driest, lowest lying, area of the country, which has virtually used up its carbon budget to 2050. The area is also among the most nature depleted. I look forward to the University building on community connections to forge a new partnership with Cambridge citizens.”

Above – Statement from Tony Booth for Chancellor of the University of Cambridge

If the University of Cambridge is the cause of some of the problems we see in and around our city, then it has to be part of the solution too.

Quality of life – what some of the data shows

I pulled these from Cambridgeshire County Council’s survey of 2024 here

Above – Cambridgeshire County Council – Quality of life survey 2024

That’s a lot of people who:

  • Don’t get to see their family/friends as often as they would like
  • Don’t feel they have enough free time
  • Have struggled with mental health
  • Often feel lonely

What would the data show if the headline figures were disaggregated by age, gender, occupation, income, and other variables?

And what actions if any, could the University of Cambridge and its affiliated institutions take to deal with some of the problems highlighted in the county council’s quality of life report? Not just its own members of staff and academics, but the wider city too.

Food for thought?

If you are interested in the longer term future of Cambridge, and on what happens at the local democracy meetings where decisions are made, feel free to: