Water shortage fears have emerged over Rachel Reeves' plan to build 10,000 homes in Cambridgeshire.
Government quango Homes England, alongside homebuilder the Hill Group, set out their plans yesterday after buying a 700-acre site, formerly Cambridge International Airport, to be transformed into thousands of new homes.
Named Cambridge East, the project will generate around 9,000 jobs, according to ministers, and will be one of the largest urban extension projects ever done in the UK.
Ms Reeves, speaking at the Scientific Superpower Conference yesterday said the project "will allow us to align land, funding and planning levers and bring forward a key Cambridge growth site faster than the status quo would ever have managed."
However, the plans have sparked concerns over water availability as Cambridge suffers from aqua scarcity.
Cambridge is one of the driest regions in the UK, relying on sensitive chalk aquifers for 99 per cent of its water supply.
Critics of the plans are concerned the new swathe of homes will bring already scarce resources to breaking point.
Wendy Blythe, the chairwoman of the Federation of Cambridge Residents Association said: "There are still water scarcity problems, not to mention energy capacity and infrastructure issues – where will it all come from?
Despite being one of the driest regions in the UK, 10,000 new homes have been approved on the old site of Cambridge Airport
|GETTY
"All of these projects are happening, but we don’t seem to be any further on water – we are the driest city in the UK."
The plans form part of the Chancellor's bigger project, which aims to develop the 100-mile corridor between Oxford and Cambridge into the UK's very own Silicon Valley.
It hopes to build a hub for science and technology businesses as well as many new homes and transport links to support.
To support her plans, Ms Reeves intends to form two 2012 Olympics-style corporations which manage Greater Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire respectively.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Rachel Reeves has vowed she would overcome any resistance to her plans in Cambridgeshire
|GETTY
The groups would oversee the projects, led by central and local Government officials.
They will also have the ability to bypass any local politics which may delay or create obstacles for the project's progression.
Robert Pollock, the chief executive of Cambridge City Council said the developers of the site "must resolve water scarcity problems when they bring forward a planning application".
Other local authority leaders described being left "in the dark" by the Government.
Bridget Smith, South Cambridgeshire's leader said: "We are in the dark as to any details about how the development corporation will operate and frankly, we have more questions than answers."
She said the area already had planning approval for almost 40,000 homes and the new plan "risks slowing growth down".
"We think this change risks slowing growth down," the Lib Dem council leader said.
"The real barriers to delivery are not the planning decisions made locally, but delays in key supporting facilities such as water, transport and utilities, and this is where any development corporation should focus its energy and influence."
In 2024, the Conservative Government announced plans to create a new water credit system which meant housing developers have a neutral impact on water scarcity in Cambridgeshire.
Developers will be tasked with increasing water efficiency levels in new properties with any remaining water offset with the purchase of water credits.
Credits will be generated by fitting existing properties with water-efficient showers, toilets and washing machines.
Usage monitored will be monitored through water company metering data and the scheme overseen by the Environment Agency and an appointed market operator.