Trumpington Liberal Democrats

The Labour government is planning to impose a centrally-led urban Development Corporation (“DevCo”) in Greater Cambridge, which would take a away our local planning and plan making powers for several decades. The public consultation period ended on April 1st. While our team supports sustainable and measured growth around Cambridge in principle, and welcomes the government’s support with much-needed infrastructure, there is no need to take away planning powers from our award-winning local planning services.

Cambridge City Council held an Extraordinary Council Meeting on 19 March 2026 to debate the Council’s response to the consultation. Please read or listen to Cllr Hauk’s speech below, who used the example of the new developments in Trumpington to highlight the success of our local planning services as well as the need for investment in our existing and future infrastructure.

Cllr Hauk’s speech at Extraordinary City Council Meeting, March 19th

You’ve heard me speak about Trumpington’s new developments many times before. And today, those experiences are more relevant than ever.

Because Trumpington shows us both sides of the same medal – a gold medal I may add.

Firstly, Trumpington is a success story. Former Green Belt land has been transformed into lively new neighbourhoods with high-density homes and beautiful and award-winning parks and nature reserves. Thousands of new residents now live there, and when I knock on doors, the phrase I hear most often is simple: “I’m happy here.” Our local authorities have clearly been able to provide “high-quality sustainable growth”.

But the other side of the medal is equally important. Many residents are still waiting for the amenities they were promised more than ten years ago. Some play areas have only just opened. The active recreation area is still behind fences. Shops remain empty. In unadopted areas, street lights are broken, trees have died, and parking and traffic signalling are chaotic. Cambridge South station has been delayed twice now.

This is what undermines trust in growth. This is what we need support for – not the building of houses, but the delivery of the infrastructure.

That is why I support the ambitions behind the proposed Development Corporation. Cambridge is a global centre of science and innovation. The country needs us to succeed. The government is right to recognise that unlocking further growth requires major infrastructure investment and coordination at a national scale.

But one thing must be clear: That Trumpington’s developments were planned and delivered under local democratic control. Local leadership has been essential in shaping growth that people can actually support. Without public trust and support, no development programme – however ambitious – will succeed.

This must be a genuine partnership between national and local government. Not a master-and-servant relationship.

We want Cambridge to continue driving discovery, prosperity, and innovation for the whole country and the world. We must create wealth in order to distribute it. But growth must benefit both existing residents and future ones. 

So yes – let us have a Development Corporation that helps deliver infrastructure, unlock investment, and accelerate delivery. But it must work with local government, not against it.

Finally, we must also look beyond Cambridge itself. The government should help strengthen connections between universities, research centres, and new hubs across the country – so that future centres of excellence can flourish alongside the Oxford-Cambridge corridor.

The government should manage the country – not micromanage Cambridge and take away our democratic right to planning and plan making powers.”