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Our Purpose

History

The Cambridge Growth Company (CGC) was established by government in 2024 as an interim delivery body to address barriers to growth and help unlock Greater Cambridge’s full potential.

As a subsidiary of Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, the CGC worked to unlock and accelerate development and deliver the homes, jobs, and infrastructure needed for long-term, sustainable growth.

On the 30 October 2024, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook MP, appointed Peter Freeman to chair the CGC. At the same time, the government also committed £10m of funding to enable the CGC to develop an ambitious plan for the housing, transport, water, and wider infrastructure Cambridge needs to realise its full potential.

The CGC was guided by an Advisory Council consisting of local leaders and experts who provided insight, challenge and guidance to ensure our work reflects local priorities. (see the signed Memorandum of Understanding between CGC and the Advisory Council).

Progress made 

Working alongside partners, the CGC advanced a range of near-term priorities to accelerate and ublock key development opportunities that had already been identified. 

This included: 
  • Working with Homes England, government departments, local partners and the Cambridge Water Scarcity Group, we have helped unlock planning applications for over 9,000 homes and 528,000 sqm of commercial space. 
  • Coordinating investment and enabling infrastructure to accelerate progress on key stalled sites, including:
    • £3 million to support a new model of emergency care and preparatory work for a future acute hospital at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
    • £23 million in recoverable funding (via Homes England) for the relocation of Waterbeach Station.
    • £7.2 million to advance the Cambridge South East Transport (CSET) project. 

Alongside near-term delivery, the CGC commissioned Buro Happold and Prior + Partners to develop the evidence base for a long-term strategy for housing, employment space and infrastructure across Greater Cambridge.

For more information about the Cambridge Growth Company's work and progress across Greater Cambridge, read A Place of National and Global Significance.

The next phase

Following the Government's decision to establish a Development Corporation for Greater Cambridge, the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation was established on 23 July 2026 as the government's statutory delivery body for Greater Cambridge. The Development Corporation builds on the work undertaken by the Cambridge Growth Company and is responsible for taking that work forward.

For all information relating to the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation, please click here.