An open letter from the leaders of Cambridge City Council, Cllr Cameron Holloway, and South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cllr Bridget Smith

Local councils play a vital, if often invisible, role in our daily lives: collecting bins, approving planning applications, fixing roads, and much more. In fact, the Government estimates they deliver around 800 essential services. Most people understandably focus on whether jobs get done, not which council does them, but the structures behind them matter more than many realise.

In Cambridgeshire, we have two main tiers of local government: the county council, which covers the whole area and delivers services like education, roads, and social care; and the city and district councils – like Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District – which handle things like waste collection and planning.

Last December, the Government asked councils to start a process of “unitarisation”, replacing the existing system with new “unitary councils” that handle all local government services. The aim is to create councils that are more efficient, more transparent and accountable to residents, and can support sustainable and inclusive growth.

As part of this reorganisation process, we believe that a new council covering the current geographies of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire is the best option for our residents – and we wanted to explain why.

Cambridge and South Cambs are in many ways already joined together: we have a shared waste collection service and an award-winning shared planning service; we’re developing a shared local plan – the vital document that ensures that new houses and employment spaces will be delivered in a planned way, alongside essential infrastructure, services, and space for nature; and we function as a single economic area.

It’s a geography that makes sense to many residents. People living in South Cambridgeshire’s towns and villages travel into the city to use sport and leisure services funded by residents in Cambridge. Meanwhile, commuters using Cambridge North Station (despite the name) are crossing into South Cambridgeshire each time they catch a train, and Trumpington Park and Ride is bisected by the Cambridge-South Cambs border. People live their lives crossing between South Cambs and Cambridge daily as they travel to and from work, school and training. A new authority covering them both would in many ways formalise an existing reality.

Our area is already one of the fastest growing places in the country, with South Cambs delivering new homes at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country and Cambridge being an international focus for investment and a home to world-leading research and innovation. By working together, Cambridge and South Cambs have been able to achieve this growth whilst striking a balance between rural and urban interests – looking out for the needs of communities from Petersfield to Papworth, Market to Melbourn.

As our area grows, decisions about our area should be made closer to home. A council covering Cambridge and South Cambs would mean that decisions about Cambridge and Cambourne would be made locally by local councillors, rather than being made in Alconbury by councillors from Ely, Wisbech and Chatteris.

Regardless of their political affiliation, having councillors who are embedded in their communities is a key part of this success – and we think it’s essential that local councillors remain local in any future unitary. We want to bring decision-making on key services, that currently happens at the county council in Alconbury, closer to residents, and to ensure that councillors remain embedded in their local communities.

We recognise that others may have different views on this issue, and ultimately the decision regarding any boundaries will rest with the Government and not with local leaders, but we feel strongly that this is the option that will deliver the best outcomes for people in not only Cambridge and South Cambs but across the rest of the county too.

Yours faithfully,

Cllr Bridget Smith - Leader, South Cambridgeshire District Council

Cllr Cameron Holloway - Leader, Cambridge City Council