Review: South Cambridgeshire breakfast with Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins
SP Broadway was delighted to welcome Cllr Tumi Hawkins, Cabinet Member for Planning, South Cambridgeshire District Council, as the guest speaker for our latest online Politics of Planning roundtable.
Attendees from Vistry Group, Axis Land, Mulberry Land, Lovell Strategic Land, and Strutt and Parker among others all contributed to the discussion. Topics covered included water provision issues in the region, with the Environment Agency currently holding up major developments, the council’s vision to assess climate impact in all aspects of their local plan, and opportunities arising from major infrastructure projects such as East West Rail.
Tumi gave an in-depth overview of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City’s situation, noting the inequality in the area in terms of affordability as well as the rate at which jobs are being created faster than housing. There was a robust discussion on why developers should consult with communities and Tumi spoke on Michael Gove’s plans to turn Cambridge into the UK’s Silicon Valley and how the council face the challenge these plans for approximately 250,000 homes by 2040 present. Tumi also discussed South Cambridgeshire Planning Department’s decision to move to a four-day week in their offices which has helped job retention and has kept the same level of efficiency.
Our thanks to Tumi and guests for attending and contributing to such an interesting discussion. Our next online event is with Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe of the London Assembly, Member for Planning, Regeneration, and Skills, on Tuesday 7th November.
If you would like to attend any of our forthcoming events, please email edward@spbroadway.com.
