On this page:
- Housing Strategy
- First Homes scheme
- Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy
- Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan
- Tenancy strategy
- Further information
Housing Strategy
Our Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy for 2024 to 2029 has been developed with South Cambridgeshire District Council. It replaces our previous strategy, which was dated 2019 to 2023.
The strategy includes:
- a main strategy document setting out our aspirational vision, objectives and priorities for both new and existing housing of all tenures.
- a set of annexes providing further detail on our policy direction in particular areas, a summary of evidence used to support the Strategy, and a glossary of terms.
- an annual action plan, to be monitored and reviewed each year, giving more detail on how the strategy will be implemented.
It is set within the context of a number of our other strategies and plans including both councils’ local plans, which were adopted in 2018. The strategy and annexes cannot override national planning policy or the local plans, but they will be taken into account when dealing with planning applications.
- Housing Strategy 2024 to 2029 [PDF, 2.5MB]
- Annex 1: Housing for specific groups [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 2: Affordable housing requirements [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Annex 3: Clustering and Distribution of Affordable Housing Policy [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 4: Affordable Rents Policy [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 5: Build to Rent Policy [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 6: Summary of evidence [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 7: Glossary [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Annex 8: Key achievements 2019 to 2023 [PDF, 0.1MB]
- Year one action plan [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Consultation survey result [PDF, 0.7MB]
- Equality impact assessment [PDF, 0.3MB]
First Homes scheme
The government’s First Homes scheme helps to provide affordable home ownership for first time buyers.
We have agreed a joint statement with South Cambridgeshire District Council on how we will deal with the scheme locally. A separate issues and options paper provides more background.
- First Homes scheme: Interim position statement [PDF, 0.2MB]
- First Homes scheme: Issues and options paper [PDF, 0.4MB]
We will review this approach when the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy is refreshed in 2023 and as part of the work on a new Greater Cambridge Local Plan.
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy
Our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy sets out our five-year plan to deal with homelessness and rough sleeping in Cambridge.
We wrote the strategy following extensive consultation, including with statutory and voluntary agencies. It draws on the findings of our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Review, from 2019.
- Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021 to 2026 [PDF, 0.6MB]
- Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Review [PDF, 1MB]
We developed the strategy during a year of great change and uncertainty about the medium to long-term impact of coronavirus. Early indications suggest the impact on the economy might cause greater housing stress and more people losing their home. But we see some new opportunities and an increased incentive to develop bold new solutions, especially in the area of homelessness prevention. We have tried to reflect this in our strategy.
Sub-Regional Housing Action Plan
The Housing Board for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and West Suffolk works on strategic housing issues across the Cambridge housing sub-region.
It covers Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, Peterborough, South Cambridgeshire and West Suffolk.
The group’s action plan is reviewed regularly. It is available on Cambridgeshire Insight’s housing priorities webpage.
Tenancy strategy
Our tenancy strategy sets out the issues registered providers must consider when deciding:
- what type of tenancies to offer
- the circumstances in which they will offer each type of tenancy
- the length of any fixed-term tenancy
- the circumstances in which they will grant a new tenancy when a fixed term tenancy comes to an end
- Tenancy Strategy 2020 [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Tenancy Strategy 2020: Glossary [PDF, 79Kb]
- Tenancy Strategy 2020: Supporting data [PDF, 0.2MB]
- See also: Housing services policies
Further information
Other relevant strategies, policies and plans can be found on our council policies, plans and strategies section.