The following article by Cllr Gerri Bird, Executive Councillor for Housing, was published in Cambridge Independent on 29 January 2025 (page 27).

"As executive councillor for Housing and being a housing association tenant myself, I understand the joys and challenges of living in social housing. Spending 52 years of my life in social housing, I have felt the frustration of not having much say over where I live or having to seek permission to make changes to my home. Equally, I know it’s a privilege to be able to access social housing and strongly believe that all residents have a right to a safe, warm home.

It is undeniable that Cambridge is grappling with a severe housing affordability crisis. The city ranks as the second least affordable city in which to purchase a home. For those looking to buy, average house prices are half a million pounds, while the average salary is just £30,000. For those who are then forced to rent on the private rental market, the situation is equally dire. The city ranks as the third least affordable place to rent in the UK, with high rents and fees placing significant strain on private renters.

This crisis affects everyone, from lifelong residents to key workers in schools, hospitals, care homes, and even local council workers, who are being priced out of the city due to below-average wages. The demand for council housing is overwhelming, with nearly 3,500 people on our register for council housing, underscoring the pressing need for more affordable homes.

Clearly, this is not right. Everyone – regardless of their income deserves a nice, warm, safe, affordable home. But how can we achieve this?

Nationally, the government has announced its ambition for 1.5 million new homes to be built across the country. In Greater Cambridge (Cambridge and neighbouring South Cambridgeshire), the government’s recently announced housebuilding target is 2,309 homes per year – very similar to the target (2,463) our Greater Cambridge Shared Planning colleagues identified as being needed to meet the number of forecast jobs. However, it’s not up to our planning colleagues to build these homes.

Cambridge City Council has been at the forefront of efforts to address the local housing crisis, particularly through its partnership with housebuilder Hill in the Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP). This innovative collaboration has delivered over 70% of the city’s affordable housing in recent years, with more than 650 new council homes built since 2018.

While land scarcity and rising construction costs remain challenges, the council has pledged to deliver 1,000 additional council homes and 1,000 private homes through CIP by 2030. Profits from the sale of private homes are reinvested into future council housing projects, as well as funding vital facilities such as parks, preschools, and community centres on new development sites.

All new homes adhere to high standards of space, light, accessibility, sustainability, and energy efficiency, helping tenants reduce their energy bills. It is of particular importance to me that we ensure that we build wheelchair accessible housing, with 5% designed specifically for wheelchair users. These new developments create mixed and balanced communities that are ‘tenure blind’, meaning there is no visible distinction between council and private homes.

Despite significant progress, external funding remains limited. The council, along with over 100 other local authority landlords, called on the Government to take urgent action to secure the future of council housing across England. We have emphasised the need for systemic change including around funding, right to buy legislation and long-term green homes investment. This will be essential to support government's ambition to build these 1.5 million new homes.

However, it is not just building new homes where we are focusing our efforts. We must urgently prioritise investment in our existing council housing. Some older council homes are in poor condition or fail to meet modern standards, making refurbishment impossible. In such cases, the CIP redevelops these sites, replacing outdated housing with high-quality new council homes.

These projects aim to improve living conditions for current tenants, increase the number of council homes, and address the clear local need for larger family homes. While some sites are entirely dedicated to council housing (such as our plans for 120 new council homes in East Barnwell), others may include a mix of council and private homes to create diverse and balanced communities (such as at Hanover and Princess Court).

One of the most difficult challenges of this work is to make sure that residents are fully supported during any redevelopment process. I don’t like change, and I understand how scary and difficult it can be during times of change. As a council, we try to keep in regular contact with everyone who lives on a site that is being considered for development and offer lots of practical support. For example, we will take people to visit some of our new developments so they can see the quality of the homes and meet the communities that they could move into. 

We also support every resident with a bespoke package that addresses their concerns. For example, where neighbours are worried about being split up, we have supported people to move into brand new homes where they can still be neighbours. For others, their priority may be staying in the same part of the city – and so we can support them with this. For others, the logistics of removals might be the biggest concern, and we will provide this practical support. For everyone affected, there will also be compensation paid, and financial support as needed.  

Although in these cases disruption is inevitable, the council’s overarching goal is to provide tenants with more comfortable, modern homes while also contributing to the city’s wider housing needs.

We won’t always get things right, but our commitment to addressing Cambridge’s housing crisis and prioritising council housing remains steadfast. We know the challenges and frustrations residents feel, but I want to ensure the council continues to play its vital role in delivering on our vision where everyone in Cambridge, regardless of income, has somewhere to call home."