To build back better from the pandemic and grow the economy the next metro mayor should:
Make the city region a more affordable place to live
Cut congestion, clean up the air, and fix the local bus network
Improve young people’s skills
In addition to several pre-existing economic challenges that the area faces, the pandemic has hit Cambridgeshire and Peterborough city region’s economy hard. 15,000 more people locally have begun claiming unemployment-related benefits in the past year.
To address this challenge and build back better from the pandemic, Centre for Cities’ policy paper sets out three key areas for the election winner to focus on.
1. Make the city region a more affordable place to live
In recent year the city region, and Cambridge in particular, has been the UK’s star performer for delivering more housing. However, it remains one of the most unaffordable places to live in the UK, with homes costing nearly 15 times the average local salary.
To address this the next metro mayor should advocate for the release of more greenbelt land near local railway stations in the city region. The progress towards building 6,500 homes around Waterbeach station shows this potential. The city region needs more of these kinds of schemes to make housing affordable.
The metro mayor should also push for more flexibility on the size of new homes allowed in local plans, this would allow housing providers to offer more smaller units specifically for single people to live in, while freeing up larger homes for families.
2. Cut congestion, clean up the air, and fix the local bus network
Peak time congestion in Cambridge is a serious challenge that limits economic growth across the city region. The next metro mayor should address this by introducing a congestion charge in Cambridge city centre. Congestion charging is politically controversial but is proven to have reduced congestion in other cities. The money raised can be invested in public transport.
In addition, the next metro mayor should bring Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s buses under public management, as the Mayor of Greater Manchester recently announced plans to. This would improve services, reduce fares and unlock millions of pounds of extra central government funding. The metro mayor should re-introduce bus lanes on key roads.
The metro mayor should also introduce a toxic air quality charge for the most polluting vehicles in Cambridge and Peterborough.
3. Improve young people’s skills
There is a wide gap between educational outcomes across the city region. In Peterborough, one in 10 young people currently claim unemployment-related benefits, while in Cambridge just 2.5% do. Although the metro mayor does not have formal responsibility for schools, the next one should use their soft power and influence to improve academic performance and campaign for schools.
The metro mayor should also make it easier for young people to access apprenticeships by creating a UCAS-style portal linking applicants to local vacancies. A scheme of this kind has already been launched in Liverpool City Region.
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: "The last year has hit Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s economy very hard and the next metro mayor has a big job ahead of them to repair some of this damage.
“Whoever is elected on 6 May needs to work with local stakeholders, businesses and the Government to open up housing, employment and education opportunities to anyone who needs them. Without these, employment will rise even further and thousands more people could find themselves locked out of the labour market.
“This is not a job that can be done from Whitehall and the Government should listen to the substantial majority of people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who back giving more powers to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor.”
Recent Centre for Cities / Savanta ComRes polling found that 74% of people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough back giving more powers to the metro mayor. Half of people (50%) want the Mayor to take more responsibility for providing affordable housing, while 43% want them to provide more direct support to local businesses. Just one in ten (9%) are opposed to any further devolution.