黑洞社区

Government officials have reportedly told local authorities that it has dropped the idea of a centrally-driven project to drive an 鈥渁rc鈥� of development delivering up to a million homes between Oxford and Cambridge.

A , the chief executive of South Cambridgeshire Council, one of the local authorities making up the supposed 鈥淥x-Cam Arc鈥�, states there has been a change of approach by the housing department since Michael Gove was installed as secretary of state.

Watts鈥� report, produced in advance of a council meeting next week, said that after a period of uncertainty, it was now clear that 鈥渢he government does not wish to see the Ox Cam Arc as a project driven by central government鈥�.

Questions had already been raised about the government鈥檚 commitment to the project, with the previous housing minister Chris Pincher, stating last summer that the ambition to build one million homes in the Arc was 鈥渘ot a government target and it is not a government policy鈥�.

The government in 2018 said, in its by the National Infrastructure Commission on the proposal for the Ox-Cam Arc, that it supported the NIC鈥檚 ambition 鈥渢o build up to one million high quality homes by 2050鈥�.

However, at the time the government said it remained committed to the project as a whole, albeit without a specific housing target.

But Watts鈥� report said: 鈥淔ollowing the creation of the 鈥楧epartment for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities鈥� (DLUHC) in September 2021, and the appointment of the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP as the new DLUHC Secretary of State, there has been a significant change in the government鈥檚 approach to the Ox Cam Arc.

鈥淔ollowing a period of uncertainty over the ensuing months, it became clear that the government does not wish to see the Ox Cam Arc as a project driven by central government.

鈥淭here was no mention of the Ox Cam Arc in the Levelling Up White Paper published on 2 February, and discussions with DLUCH officials have indicated that ministers believe that while they support the continuation of the project, it should be locally led, focusing on things that local leaders believe are priorities.鈥�

Watts said this new positioned differed from the previous apparent ditching of the project鈥檚 original one million homes target, because 鈥渕any communities continued to be cynical about this position [from the government]鈥�.

She added: 鈥淣ow that the government will not be taking the project forward centrally, it will be up to local leaders to identify the priorities they wish to support across the Arc (if it does indeed continue [鈥�]).鈥�

Planning barrister Zack Simons, of Landmark Chambers, said in a blog he was disappointed by the change. He said: 鈥淪o much for&苍产蝉辫;鈥榯he need for a government-led approach to strategic planning鈥� which the Department was telling us about last year. So much for last year鈥檚 confirmation that this project could not safely be left to individual authorities to bring forward. [鈥�] The great advantage of flexible slogans like 鈥�levelling up鈥� is that they can mean whatever you want them to mean.鈥�