Using a non-statutory strategic approach to respond to the increasing development pressure in and around Cambridge caused by the phenomenal growth of high-tech businesses.
The Cambridge Futures project looked at ways of relieving development pressure in the area in the context of:
- statutory restrictions on growth, including a green belt around the city, and
- a high degree of perceived community opposition to growth.
The project team developed seven strategic land-use and transport ‘futures’ for the Cambridge sub-region. They evaluated the options in terms of their economic, social and environmental benefits.
An extensive public consultation followed. A survey of public opinion on the ’futures’ was published in October 1999 and sparked debates which fed into the development of the county structure plan.
The Cambridge Futures project shows how:
- a local community can resolve an apparently intractable problem by exploring options and collaborating in a non-confrontational context
- a university can act as the catalyst for such a project
- support in cash and in kind from local participants can generate resources for this work.
