About the City and the Council
Cambridge combines a rich history with the vibrancy and prosperity of outstanding educational institutions and modern businesses. It is an inspiring and attractive place in which to live and work. It is at the heart of a buoyant sub-region which is an area designated for major growth in employment and housing. The pace of change is affected by the current recession but Cambridge’s economy is relatively resilient.
The Council is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of the City in housing, jobs and community infrastructure. This growth has to respect our climate change policies.
The City Council believes the community as a whole and every person in it matters. We want future growth that preserves the City’s best qualities, sustains its environmental, social and economic fabric and is supported by a first class transport infrastructure. Although Cambridge is a prosperous place, many people on low incomes face the challenge of high living costs, particularly for housing.
Local economy and community
The City of Cambridge is in the east of England, 50 miles north of London. A beautiful place to live and work, Cambridge is an historic University City with high quality architecture and attractive open spaces. It is also a city of national importance, being a world leader in higher education and many 21st century industries – information technology, telecommunications and commercial research, particularly the biotechnology sector.
The population of Cambridge is currently 115,200. This is forecast to grow by nearly 31% over the next 12 years. The Council is working in partnership with other local Councils and an external organisation, Cambridgeshire Horizons, to manage the planning for 47,500 new homes in the county by 2016. This has major implications for the way that the City Council delivers its services in the future.
At present 23% of the City’s population are aged 15–24. A significant characteristic of the City’s population is its large and diverse student population, totalling almost 27,000 (including post graduates).
The daytime population of the City increases significantly, with high levels of commuting into the City and very large numbers of tourists and visitors. Last year nearly 4 million people visited the City. The high day time population places pressure on the City’s infrastructure and heavy demands on basic Council services such as street cleaning.
Over 10% of the City’s population are from black and minority communities and 13.7% have a disability or limiting long-term illness. The Council has a strong commitment to addressing equalities issues and celebrating diversity across a range of different needs, including those influenced by gender or gender reassignment; race and ethnicity; disability; sexual orientation; age; religion/belief. The Council works closely with a number of community groups to ensure that services meet their specific needs and that we have a more representative workforce.
Cambridge has one of the highest qualified work forces in the East of England with 41% of people having a degree or higher qualification, and relatively speaking, the City is affluent.
However Cambridge is not without its challenges, this affluence does mask disadvantaged communities living in the City, with substantial inequalities between wards. Some wards appear in the 25% most deprived wards in the country, whilst others are in the top 10%
of least deprived. One in eleven people living in the City live in a household claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
Access to affordable housing is also a key issue. Average house prices in Cambridge are the highest in the County at £287,141 (June 2010). Average earnings in the City are around £27,000. This means that it is difficult for key workers to live close to work, due to the high housing costs within the City. Homelessness is also a problem. The Council is landlord for around 8,000 homes in the City, and Registered Social Landlords hold some 3,000 properties.
The Council’s housing landlord services were inspected in 2009 and achieved a two star rating with excellent prospects for improvement.