Forest City 1

“The economy is roundly screwed. Now is not the time to be timid. Never underestimate the major hurdles to be overcome, but… I am throwing caution to the wind and chucking my weight behind this project, these ideas and these people.”

“It is in the National Interest that we put our faith in people and organisations that believe that the future remains ours to make. All across the country people are listless in the face of inertia. Forest City provides a creative spark, an imaginative leap and a roadmap for a beautiful future with a new way to live. How much better to aim for something that a century from now will have people thankful we were here at this moment, than held transfixed in aspic by an imagined glorious past. We are about to enter a new era where the old ways will be left behind. Embrace the new, with a gentle nod to the past and we will reignite the flame of creativity that once singled us out and can, yet again.”

“We talk about the UK's creative and cultural industries as an incredible national strength, but we will slowly strangle them by failing to build places where creative and dynamic people can actually afford to live. Forest City is an opportunity to design, from scratch, the kind of place that attracts the scientists, creators and entrepreneurs who will shape the 21st and 22nd century. Done right, it could be Britain's most ambitious act in the physical environment in a generation. I spent six years as a DCMS Minister bolstering Britain's global standing as a place that does extraordinary things. Forest City would be an excellent way to cement that standing.”

“Cambridge is one of the most important innovation clusters in the world, but it's being held back by a lack of housing and infrastructure. Forest City is a serious answer to a serious problem. If we want to keep world-class talent building in the UK, we need to give them somewhere to live.”

“Forest City 1 is a chance for the UK to reinvent placemaking, land use and the planning system. It can serve as a blueprint for growth, while solving some of the greatest challenges the nation faces such as the housing emergency, nature depletion and the skill crisis. It needs to be taken seriously and we certainly back the proposal… It's a chance for this government, who has a mission to enable growth and solve the housing crisis, to leave a mark as well loved as the NHS.”

“World-leading innovation clusters do not grow in isolation — they are supported by places that provide the space to live, experiment and scale. The UK has extraordinary research and entrepreneurial talent, but without the physical capacity for new homes, labs and high-quality workspace, we limit our own ambition. We've seen how Silicon Valley has Stanford backing its innovation and growth; Forest City represents an opportunity to create the conditions for the next century of British innovation by allowing growth in Cambridge. It's a place designed from the outset to support deep tech, life sciences and high-growth companies at a meaningful scale.”

“This level of ambition is the kind of project we need in Europe to turn it around this century. This sounds completely impossible, but only until it's done.”

“I think it's a bold plan, which would benefit local residents and harness all the potential of Cambridge, which is currently hampered by planning restrictions. The project will create a huge tech employment opportunity. It will also create the kind of growth this government is trying so hard to establish.”