Approved at the Council meeting, 9 October 2025.

Council records its huge disappointment at the decision not to fund the relocation (and expansion) of the Anglian Water waste water treatment plant from North East Cambridge which will:

• put at risk much of the preparatory work done by Government and local councils over the last seven years
• block the provision of at least 5,600 much-needed new homes on the most sustainable site around the city close to jobs and the provision of new amenities for the shared benefit of new and existing residents in north Cambridge
• cause alternative development in other less suitable locations to be considered
• make future waste water treatment capacity a new potential obstacle to all development in our area

Council notes that:

• the cost of relocation of the waste water treatment plant had risen significantly, requiring total Government cash funding of £338m
• Anglian Water had previously stated that there was no operational need to move the plant, and that current waste water capacity was sufficient. However, they have recently raised objections to several planning applications in Cambridge on the grounds of a lack of waste water treatment capacity to meet the requirements of new planned growth
• of the approximately £13m spent by the City Council in relation to this project, approximately £11m was spent on building a new operational hub, which will provide significant benefit to council staff and Cambridge residents

Council is concerned that this decision is at complete variance with the government’s earlier planning approval for the relocation, its wider ambition for Cambridge’s future, and that it will prevent an attractive return to the Treasury of circa £1bn per annum from the growth that it would have unlocked.

Council resolves accordingly to:

• request that the government reviews the investment case for Hartree in the context of the infrastructure costs of bringing forward less sustainable sites to deliver at least 5600 homes, including the cost of the new pressure to expand waste water treatment capacities
• if investment to move the waste water plant is not secured, request Anglian Water to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Council to prepare a plan, investment case and timetable to bring forward early works to limit as far as possible the odour from the existing waste water treatment plant, to release land for housing development at Hartree and increase its capacity to support delivery of development as proposed in the emerging Greater Cambridge Joint Local Plan
• request council officers to complete a calculation of costs incurred by the Council since the Housing Infrastructure Grant was awarded in 2019 in respect of a) the North East Cambridge Action Plan and b) Hartree;
• continue discussions with government ministers aimed at bringing forward comprehensive economic, social and environmental measures to support shared ambitions for the Greater Cambridge area to: become significantly more socially inclusive and equitable; protect and enhance the natural environment; be globally competitive in higher education, research, technology and life sciences