08/11/2025
We were out on Arbury Court today (8-10-25)talking to residents. There is a growing awareness that many residents do not know of the plans to knock down Arbury Court and homes in the surrounding area to make way for a mix of council and private homes.
At Cambridge City Council Cabinet meeting (21-10-25), Cllr Dave Baigent urged caution. Dave suggested that there should be an initial poll of all the residents involved and suggested (unsuccessfully) that knocking down council homes and building on the Arbury Play Park may not be popular. Dave still believes that this is something the council would do well to find out sooner rather than later.
Dave was also concerned that an attempt to gentrify the area may not suit the current community. When challenged about this Dave suggests that building homes for sale on the existing council land is a gentrification that would further change the existing community.
At its peak, the proposal is to build 410 new homes, around 51% council and 49% private (although the size and amount of bedrooms in each are yet to be provided). There is no question that the deal the council is offering to move tenants out of their homes, for the two years it will take to carry out the work, will advantage some.
However, if you live in Arbury Court or the older housing estates at Kingsway, parts of Brackley Close, Rutland Close and Verulam Way, then being required to move to make way for the gentrification, may well upset those residents who do not want to see their community destroyed.
One question we are stating to think about is if we should argue that the council should refurbish the homes they plan to knock down. They have done this with great success in Romsey. So why not in Arbury?
We have been down to Arbury Court three times so far to talk to residents. We are there again on Sunday 1100 to 1300. Why not come and talk to us, get in touch with Dave or join us https://Independents4YPCambs
