The Future of Cambridge hustings at Friends Meeting House in Jesus Lane had passion, drama, disbelief, surrealism and some potent observations about the state of Cambridge - and the challenges to be faced before the city can set course for a prosperous future..
Facing the public were seven candidates vying to become the Member of Parliament for Cambridge on July 4. The candidates present were Labour’s Daniel Zeichner, who is vying for re-election, Shane Manning from the Conservative Party. Cheney Payne of the Liberal Democrats, Sarah Nicmanis for the Green Party, Khalid Abu-Tayyem of the Workers Party of Britain and Independent David Carmona.
The 19 June hustings organised by Friends of the Cam and the Federation of Cambridge Residents' Associations (FeCRA), was chaired by Mia Gray, professor of economic geography and a fellow of Girton College at the University of Cambridge.
Each candidate was invited to make a three-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A. From the start, the key theme was growth: how can the city continue to grow when the water system is so close to breaking down, the transport system is creaking and housing is unaffordable for all but top-tier earners?
First up was Cheney Payne for the Lib Dems, who said that “it’s vital for Cambridge to have the right to determine its own future”, while Shane Manning argued Cambridge needs “a bold vision for a sustainable future”.
An amusing satirical speech followed from David Carmona, the independent, who said that Cambridge has “too many trees, too many grass verges, and too many butterflies”. The answer to the city’s water problem, he suggested, is “we can ration it to half a glass a day”. David joked that he dislikes “poor people, with their second hand clothes, their cheap cars, and bad teeth”. His tongue-in-cheek view was that all planning should be abandoned and Cambridge should become “like Manhattan on the Cam” with lots of high-rise buildings - “a metropolis for the future”. His point, perhaps, was that this is where we could be heading if developers have their way.
Sarah Nicmanis, following, stuck to the facts.
“Cambridge will run out of water, and it could be by 2029,” she said. The city “is already past the point of sustainable growth”. The best thing we can do is “put growth aside”.
Next up was Daniel Zeichner for Labour, who said his aim is “for Cambridge to be the best small city in the world” and he hopes to see “a city with less inequality…. We need to work together”.
Last up was Khalid Abu-Tayyem, an oncologist who works in the NHS. Khalid is dismayed at the state of Cambridge and concerned that “Cambridge is going to sink soon if we don’t do anything now”. The services in Cambridge “are for a smaller city”, he argued, before asking: “Where is the water going to come from?”.
The session then opened up to the floor, with two initial questions from Friends of the Cam, an ecological movement protecting the city’s river.
Here are some of the comments to emerge from the Q&A.
Discussing proposed developments like further phases at Darwin Green, Cheney Payne (Lib Dem) said: “We’ve drawn a red line that unless the government supplies a new reservoir or pipeline that plan won’t be happening… The first thing is to build that new reservoir. Also - why has there been no hosepipe ban?”
With regard to using green belt land for development, she said: “The Lib Dems propose not going on green belt land, just brown belt”. But Ms Payne did not wish to address the issue of moving the Milton sewage works to Honey Hill to create space for new homes “because the [proposed] sewage plant is not in Cambridge” - an argument that did not seem to go down well with the audience.
Daniel Zeichner (Labour) said: “If we can’t sort out the water issues, of course we shouldn’t be building these houses, but I believe we can and there’s lots more we can do - we could use water more efficiently for sure… People are saying unless you do these things you can’t build and that is the way it should be.” Part of the solution, he suggested, was to avoid putting pressure on Cambridge by addressing regional inequality. “Regional inequality in this country is one of the most fundamental problems this country faces… but it’s really hard to address. [Housing] affordability is a really important point.”
Khalid Abu-Tayyem (Workers Party of Britain) said: “In my work a growth is either malignant or benign. What we’re facing here [in Cambridge] is a malign growth. The A&E in Cambridge is for a small city. How are you expanding the city? I need councillors to control the companies but who is controlling the city? It’s the companies - and the councillors can’t do anything. We need more control by our citizens over these companies… We’re over-expanding, over-building. Without water supply, it’s really dangerous for our city. We have to review each plan - including the ones we’ve already signed.”
Shane Manning (Conservative) told the audience: “I can’t believe I’m going to agree with Daniel but growth is important. Millions of people need growth to buy their houses. Growth and [care of] the environment can be achieved sustainably but we won’t do that without local support. We want to build but it has to be the right time and in the right place.”
David Carmona (Independent) argued: “The attitude is ‘we just need to squeeze everything out of Cambridge so let’s try to see where we can find the water’. But you could be developing other centres around the country rather than betting everything on one winning horse because it isn’t going to be a winning horse forever…. You have people providing vital services here [schools, hospitals] and they need to be on a par with other people so even if you’re not in a high-paying job people can feel respectable.”
