Further £73m of borrowing approved by Cambridgeshire County Council

According to a report for the council’s general purposes committee, the money will be spent on property investments “within Cambridgeshire’s economic geography”.

Cllr Joan Whitehead said the report made her feel “slightly nervous,” noting the borrowing is estimated to cost the council £4.1 million in 2020/21 which the report says then “decreases each year after”.

The council’s head of finance, Tom Kelly, said investment is expected to make a net return after costs are deducted.

Leader of the council, Cllr Steve Count, said “the sums do add up in a very positive manner”.

Cllr Josh Schuman, chair of the commercial and investment committee, described the council’s investments to date as “sound investments”.

The council’s net borrowing is forecast to reach £700 million by next March.

The decision to increase the borrowing was approved unanimously by the council’s general purposes committee.

The council has made a number of property investments already this year, including the Cromwell Leisure Park in Wisbech, the Tesco site in Milton and Kingsbridge Centre  in Peterborough.

Ben Hatton, Local Democracy Reporting Service