Cambridge Labour Party Cambridge Labour Party
On 15th January, the Labour-run City Council pledged to allocate £20 million of general reserves towards the new Civic Quarter project.
Cambridge Labour’s 2023 Manifesto pledge ‘to allocate significant reserves to develop our future market square and the Guildhall into a strong and more accessible civic centre’ has seen major progress following two Strategy and Resources Committee meetings in January where plans were supported by councillors.
Cambridge Labour has guaranteed the long-term importance of the Guildhall, Cambridge’s Civic building, in the centre of the historic city, by pledging to invest to improve the space for council services, residents and businesses.
Declaring a climate emergency in 2019, Cambridge Labour is working on its vision for Cambridge to be net zero carbon by 2030. To achieve this, the council is working hard to retrofit all council-owned buildings, including council houses and council buildings such as the Guildhall.
According to IPPR research, an estimated 75,000 public assets worth £15bn have been sold by English councils since 2010 due to slashing of local government funding by the Conservative government. However, Cambridge Labour understands the importance of this civic space and is investing to improve access for the community.
The proposals will also improve business space in the Guildhall, successfully piloted by Allia’s Future Business Centre which is currently occupying two floors of the building. This investment in the city centre space will deliver further opportunities for commercial office letting and events space, offering the council an opportunity for an enhanced commercial revenue stream.
On 29th February 2024, the Strategy and Resources committee voted to allocate £1m to progress the project to the end of RIBA stage 2 for the Guildhall.
Cllr Simon Smith, Executive Cllr for Finance and Resources stated:
“I am thrilled that this project has had the green light to continue to the next stage. While there is clearly huge interest in how the building will be modernised, this is just the beginning of this work and residents will be able to have their say throughout the process.
Cambridge Labour is keen for residents to feel more involved and actively participate in local democracy; opening up our civic space is one important aspect of this work. We are excited to see such progress and look forward to consolidating the Guildhall’s role as an exciting city centre space”