We have commented on the overall number of new jobs under the policy S/JH. See also our comments
under Wellbeing and Inclusion.
We have not given detailed comments on all of the following sections. Our overarching concern is that this
Local Plan must effectively tackle poverty and inequality in Greater Cambridgeshire. Previous approaches
have failed to do this. Much is made of the long term sustained growth of the Greater Cambridgeshire
economy but this prosperity is not felt by all. Use of foodbanks in Cambridge is up by 127% since 2015 [1].
Walking through Cambridge city centre you see vacant shops, a lack of small independent businesses, and
people in various conditions of distress, including begging and rough sleeping. Further growth in the muchvaunted
‘high technology cluster’ will not address these problems, but risks inflating the ‘Cambridge bubble’
yet further and putting a decent standard of living even further out of reach for a majority of people (see also
our response to ‘Wellbeing and inclusion - general comments’). Unemployment is not necessarily a helpful
metric when we have people holding down multiple jobs but still having to choose between heating and
eating.
[1] https://cambridgecity.foodbank.org.uk/2021/05/04/foodbank-use-in-cambridge-up-127-since-2015/