The Council has appointed the Top 20 housebuilder, Hill Group, in one investment partnership, and Balfour Beatty Investments, the international infrastructure investor, as a partner in another. This follows an extensive tender process that invited bids from suitably qualified and experienced partners with the resources, skills and competencies to jointly invest in opportunities.
Investment partnerships are part of the District Council's plans to manage the impact of reduced national funding by investing money to generate income. This income supports the delivery of frontline Council services. They are one element of the Council’s Investment Strategy which was approved at a Full Council meeting in February 2019.
The two partnerships will acquire land for new homes, including Council and social rented properties, along with commercial developments and supporting services which will help to secure the local economy as it recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic. Both partnerships aim to generate long-term income streams for the Council.
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The partnerships allow each party to benefit from the other's skills, expertise and knowledge and open-up bigger opportunities that may not have been possible without the advantage of working as a team. They also mean that the risk associated with investment is equally shared, along with profits.
The Council expects to contribute up to £170 million between the two partnerships during the next four years.
The money the Council is putting into the partnerships will include a mix of cash and funds it is able to borrow at preferential rates, supported by grants and other funding.
Identifying suitable land opportunities will be a core element of work done by the partnerships. Target sites are located within South Cambridgeshire and the wider travel to work area, as determined by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER).
The South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership with Hill Group will build a range of high-quality, sustainable private sale and affordable housing and regeneration developments to support local communities and economies, as well as investment and income generating opportunities for the Council. The broad range of potential developments to be delivered by the South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership include Council and social rented homes, private sale homes, private rented sector (PRS) housing, senior and assisted living, estate regeneration and mixed-use developments.
The partnership with Balfour Beatty, called South Cambridgeshire Projects LLP, will see mixed-use developments be identified within South Cambridgeshire and neighbouring areas.
