Cambridge, long celebrated as a hub of innovation and academic excellence, is now at the centre of a government-backed growth initiative that could inject up to £78billion into the UK economy. However, stark disparities in health and well-being across the city have raised concerns that not all residents will benefit equally from this boom.
Government plans announced in January by Chancellor Rachel Reeves include investments in new housing developments in the city centre, expanded laboratory space to support the region’s booming life sciences sector, and funding for the East West Rail project, which aims to improve transport links between Oxford and Cambridge. Despite these major investments, figures from Cambridgeshire County Council show a widening gap in healthy life expectancy between different parts of the city. In King’s Hedges, in north Cambridge, men can expect to live in “good” health until the age of 61 and women until 62. Just three miles (5 km) to the south in Newnham, that number rises dramatically to 73 years for men and 77 for women.
Healthy life expectancy refers to the number of years a person can expect to live in good general health, and is considered a key measure of wellbeing and access to opportunity.
A 2017 report from the Centre for Cities previously named Cambridge the UK’s most unequal city, highlighting soaring living costs and a deepening divide between the city’s affluent and deprived communities.
Keir Bowater, 29, volunteers at Abbey People, a community-focused charity based in the Abbey ward in northeast Cambridge — one of the city’s most deprived areas. The organisation supports residents through food distribution, gardening programmes, and social events. Bowater, who has been unemployed and is a graduate of Oxford University, says the charity has been a lifeline for his mental and physical health.
“I’m unemployed and I find being outside really helps me stay positive,” he told the BBC. “Somebody said to me people in Abbey have a life expectancy 11 years shorter than the rest of Cambridge, which made my jaw drop. That’s a huge, huge disparity. The money is there. You’ve got the colleges, the tech, but there’s a large chunk of people who don’t see any of that money. Abbey ward is where you see that.”
Sally Cartwright, Director of Public Health at Cambridgeshire County Council, said unequal access to nutritious food, exercise opportunities, and community facilities has all contributed to the health gap.
“You just need to not lose sight of these inequalities. It might not be a one-size-fits-all — whether someone is working, or the type of job they have or what sort of housing they live in [can contribute to life expectancy],” she told the outlet.
Ms Cartwright noted that health outcomes are influenced by a combination of factors, including income, housing conditions, access to healthcare, and behavioural risks such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
According to the Equality Trust, approximately 1 in 10 households earn less than £16,518 a year in Cambridge. The organisation says a significant proportion of residents are on low incomes, facing hardship due to the rising cost of living.
Lisa Connolly, a single mother with a child who has special needs, has deep roots in the Abbey area, where her family has lived since the 1800s. Despite living in one of the most prosperous cities in the UK, she says government investments have bypassed her community.
“We’re living day-to-day. We’re just above water, but if anything was to go wrong financially, we’d go down,” she said. “When I tell my friends I’m from Cambridge, they can’t quite believe it.”
Mercy Horsoo, another resident and gardening volunteer, echoed the sentiment: “I think it’s high time the incentives are evenly distributed,” she told the BBC. “This area has been deprived for quite a long time.”
Meanwhile, Nicky Shepard, chief executive of Abbey People, said the realities of poverty in Cambridge are often overlooked because of the city’s wealthy image.