***Massive*** document drop by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service on future of city

Posted byCambridge Town OwlPosted inUncategorized

Cambridge City Councillors meet on Wed 15 July 2026 to approve a monster set of documents going out to public consultation on the future of the city

You can:

Additionally, this is an early notice for anyone interested in organising meetings or workshops – theme specific (eg transport) or area-specific (eg a village or a neighbourhood in Cambridge)

Have a look at:

It looks like over 100 in-depth documents have been refreshed at the very least

A simple search comes up with 253 returns for ‘2026’. Some of them might have a few words added. Others might have new sections. Some are completely new – i.e. they were not in the late 2025 iteration.

The headings from ‘Other Supporting Documents’ downwards in the Evidence Base include:

  • Strategy
  • Sites (big ones)
  • Climate change (Important given the current heatwave!)
  • Biodiversity and green spaces (Ditto!)
  • Wellbeing and social inclusion
  • Great Places (This has ****lots*** on Tall Buildings (think Brookgate Boxes and Science Park Cuboids))
  • Jobs
  • Homes
  • Infrastructure (Includes Water]
There are also Third Party Documents
  • Cambridge Biomedical Campus
  • Cambridge East (The Airport)
  • Land adjacent to A11 and A1307 at Grange Farm (Pampisford Estates) – Abington
  • Land adjacent to Cambridge Services (Swavesey)
  • Land to the west of Cambridge Road (Melbourne village)
  • Slate Hall Farm

Changes on maps

There are a few of these at the final document at the foot of the list.

The dull and boring Cambridge Eastern gateway (Newmarket Road and Elizabeth Way/East Road) now includes Elizabeth Way Bridge.

Above – Elizabeth Way Bridge and roads added

Massive extension of Cambourne North

Above – the massive extension of the land north of Cambourne, p11

It also includes new inclusions at:

  • Abington/Grange Farm
  • Northstowe
  • Waterbeach Newtown
  • Wellcome Genome Campus

Within Cambridge it also includes/confirms:

I’m also on Cambridge Radio from 9am on 09 July with Julian Clover talking about the City of Cambridge at 75 – the number of years since King George VI gave us city status.

Not everyone is finding the pace of growth easy

I spotted this petition in Cherry Hinton which has over 1,000 signatures to it, highlighting some of the issues that people have. While several of the comments can be dealt with relatively straight-forward, such as on the streets and places that past generations could park at in the 20th Century, others indicate the need for much more radical urban designs and solutions to the issue of motor traffic and accessibility for those with limited mobility. (Of which I am one – it’s why I don’t get out much these days!)

“Such as?”

E-microcars in neighbourhood pool-car facilities to reduce the need/demand for on-street parking, and the legalisation and regulation of privately-owned e-scooters

Above – Electroheads featuring the Citroen Ami, which doesn’t have the same licensing requirements that normal motor cars have due to its significantly-limited maximum speed

I wrote more about the above here

Organising public meetings and workshops on themes and areas

A reminder from the top of this blogpost that with the consultation due to launch later this month, start thinking about community and theme-specific workshops over the summer and early autumn. Especially those of you with links to schools and further education colleges.

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: