Cambridgeshire MPs debate the OxCamArc in Parliament – Part 3

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Daniel Zeichner MP (Lab – Cambridge) has tabled a Parliamentary Question (PQ) to the Housing Secretary for answer on Monday 07 September 2026

What they call the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor has been debated before – I wrote about it in a 2-part blogpost nearly a year ago:

The question itself is a generic one – asking what conversations ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have had with other departments (see Q23).

In Part 2 above, I listed the concerns that MPs raised in the previous debate so it’ll be interesting to see if they ask for progress updates – especially Dr Ian Sollom MP for the Liberal Democrats in St Neots and Mid-Cambridgeshire who has the Tempsford station along with the new Universal Studios theme park not far from his constituency. Note his Huntingdon neighbour Ben Obese Jecty also has a slot for a ‘topical question’ which potentially can be on any policy issue covered by the department. That said, the issue he has been most consistent on with questions for ministers has been the future of local government in his constituency. Expect a follow-up to his debate in Westminster Hall from last Tuesday which I wrote about here.

Combined Authority Mayor for Cambridgeshire Peterborough to give evidence to Parliament

The CPCA Mayor Paul Bristow will give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons – one of the most powerful committees in Parliament (which also has powers of summons) He will be alongside his Liverpool City Region counterpart Steve Rotheram. Both are former MPs. The hearing starts at 3.30pm.

There is a further public question the following day to Treasury Ministers about fiscal devolution to Mayors (see Q19 here) about the funding that ministers might devolve to mayors. The question is about the conversations ministers in the Treasury have had directly with mayors.

Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council to give evidence to Parliament

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha (LibDems – Cambourne) will be giving evidence to the House of Lords Committee on Economic Affairs on the issue of fiscal devolution in England on 08 September. She’ll be representing the County Councils Network.

Public Transport – Bus Stops

Former East of England MEP Alex Mayer MP (Lab – Leighton Buzzard) who used to live locally, is leading a debate in Westminster Hall on Standards Bus Stops on Wednesday 09 September from 11am. If you don’t know who is responsible for your local bus stop, see the extended explainer from Cambridge Bus Users here. If you are still unclear after reading all of that, don’t worry. So am I!

Greater Cambridge Transport Strategy

Which reminds me – the Combined Authority will be discussing the above on Thursday. I’ve tabled a public question about what the CPCA has made of the levels of commuter buses in/around Cambridge as a follow-up to a similar question I posted before the mayoral election last year. There are ***six CPCA committee meetings*** coming up in the next two weeks (see the calendar here) which will all be making recommendations for the Mayor and the CPCA Board on 23 September 2026.

Final public events on the Greater Cambridge Local Plan

The list below is taken from the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service local plan page here

“Will anyone show up?”

I hope so despite the disappointingly low turnout at the one at St Barnabas Church on Mill Road. In the two hours I was there I only spotted two former councillors in the handful of people who were there. It’s hard to tell whether this was due to few people being aware, or whether they looked at the questions being asked and decided it wasn’t worth it. Either way I felt that something wasn’t working about that consultation process – but it can’t be changed in the short/medium term because the rules are set nationally.

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: