We support an update of the polices on retail and leisure. COVID has accelerated changes that were already happening. In Cambridge, as in other places across the country, shops are closing, leaving empty space. We hope that the policies on “retail and centres” will take account of this. There are clear links to other policies, such as housing, jobs and great places (but not limited to these) so our centres are not full of empty, under-used, buildings.
We welcome the intention to ‘establish a hierarchy of centres across Greater Cambridge’. As regards Cambridge itself, ‘encouraging small-scale units’ may not be sufficient to attract the range of users mentioned. The 2009 ‘Clone Town’ report from the New Economics Foundation highlighted a number of reasons for Cambridge’s lack of diversity as a shopping centre. These included the very high rents charged by landlords (mostly the Colleges, with this situation tied into the university’s own funding challenges); the frequent traffic gridlocks and the fact the Park and Ride services funnel shoppers into a few central locations.