Ex-developer to 'supercharge' Cambridge as 'Europe’s science capital'
Peter Freeman has been appointed as the chair of the Cambridge Delivery Group
A former developer and head of Homes England has been named as the person who will lead the new group that could see thousands of new homes built in Cambridge.
Peter Freeman has been appointed as the chair of the Cambridge Delivery Group, which the government has tasked with delivering its vision for the city.
Reports had been made in previous weeks that the government was looking to make Cambridge the “Silicon Valley of Europe”, including building up to 250,000 new homes.
Earlier this week (July 24) Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, officially confirmed the government’s intention to see more development in the area, although did not specify exactly how many new homes could be built.
The government said it wanted to “supercharge” Cambridge as “Europe’s science capital”.
It said: “These ambitious plans to support Cambridge include a vision for a new quarter of well-designed, sustainable and beautiful neighbourhoods for people to live in, work and study.
“A quarter with space for cutting-edge laboratories, commercial developments fully adapted to climate change and this is green, with life science facilities encircled by country parkland and woodland accessible to all who live in Cambridge.”
Mr Gove announced Mr Freeman would be the chair of the new Cambridge Delivery Group, which, backed by a £5million investment, has been given the task of “driving forward” the government aims.
But who is Mr Freeman, the man who will be overseeing a potentially controversial development push in Cambridge, which has already seen cross party backlash from politicians in the area?
For the last three years Mr Freeman has been the chair of Homes England, the government housing delivery agency.
Homes England has interest in Cambridgeshire with it being one of the master developers for Northstowe, responsible for providing the strategic infrastructure and appointing housebuilders to build the homes.
Before that Mr Freeman had spent most of his career working in development.
Mr Freeman read history at Balliol College, at the University of Oxford, before training to be a lawyer at his father’s firm DJ Freeman.
He has previously said in interviews that he was not a “natural lawyer”, and left the profession to jointly set up the Argent development company with his brother Michael.
The brother’s first project was a 4,000 square feet development in Southampton, but Mr Freeman has gone on to lead larger projects.
When he was appointed to his role at Homes England in 2020, the government highlighted some of these projects, including the redevelopment around King’s Cross Station, and Brindleyplace in Birmingham.
Concerns and questions have been raised by some in and around Cambridgeshire about the impact extensive development could have on the environment, and whether there would be the infrastructure and water supply to meet this demand.
The government said it would be convening a water scarcity group and announced a £3million funding pot it said would be used to “support measures to improve the water efficiency of existing homes and commercial property across Cambridge”.
In a speech to the Inside Housing Development Summit in June 2021, Mr Freeman said the country “must make progress towards a zero-carbon society”.
He said: “We are realising that our children, and their children, will not thank us if we continue to build poorly designed homes and places. We are recognising that the way we develop neighbourhoods, towns and cities is key to our health and well-being.
“As we look to the future, building the homes the country needs to unlock opportunity and growth will be crucial, but the pursuit of those ambitions can’t be just a numbers game.
“We are more likely to win the argument for new, extended and rejuvenated settlements across the country precisely by promoting well-designed, connected, vibrant places where people can prosper through the different stages of their lives.
“For me personally, my outlook on shaping new communities is heavily influenced by my work as co-founder of Argent in its masterplanned, mixed-use developments at King’s Cross and Brindleyplace in Birmingham.
“Turning King’s Cross from a rail terminus surrounded by dereliction to an enormously attractive destination in its own right was a massive undertaking, but the principles that underpinned our approach have shaped the design of vibrant places for centuries.
“We sought to work in partnership to create places for people to live, work, play, get educated and enjoy themselves in uplifting surroundings.”