Council could set aside £20m to regenerate Cambridge city centre
Cambridge City Council is proposing to create a new civic quarter in the city
Councillors are considering setting aside £20million to help fund a “major regeneration” of Cambridge city centre.
Cambridge City Council is proposing to create a new civic quarter in the city, including the Guildhall, Market Square and the Corn Exchange.
A specific reserve is proposed to be created for the development of this civic quarter, in which £20m of earmarked funding is proposed to be placed.
The proposal has been put forward as part of the city council’s budget proposals for the coming financial year.
A report published ahead of the authority’s strategy and resources scrutiny committee this month (January 15) said the £20m will come from the city council’s existing general reserve.
It said the money will be used to fund “major redevelopment and regeneration projects”.
The report added that the money pot will be reviewed annually, and that any additional funding, or removal of any funding, would need to be approved through the council’s budget setting process.
Councillors are due to discuss the proposals and the other budget plans at the scrutiny meeting later this month.
The city council has said it still needs to make around £11.1million of savings over the next five years, but in a worst case scenario could potentially need to save £19million in that time.
This week (January 4) the city council’s executive councillor for finance and resources, Councillor Simon Smith, said the provisional funding settlement from central government for the coming financial year would do little to help the need to make savings.
He said: “The settlement applies to just a small amount of the council’s general fund budget for day-to-day services.
“The provisional figures could add approximately £968,000 to the council’s £74million budget.
“This is hardly going to make a significant impact, while local authorities are left to face larger and larger budget gaps.
“Additionally, the provisional statement assumes that councils will increase their council tax income by the highest amount, effectively forcing residents to pick up the bill.
“The government’s sleight of hand delivers little relief to the city council’s need to make up to £11m in savings over the next five years against cost pressures arising from the multitude of crises authorities are facing.”