Cambridge News
The latest Cambridge news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Orchard Park Primary Put in Special Measures by Ofsted
Ofsted has placed Orchard Park Community Primary School in special measures. Safeguarding standards were not met and three areas need urgent improvement.
More stories
Schools
Trumpington Park Primary: Ofsted Early Years Exceptional
Ofsted's first report card for Trumpington Park Primary rates its early years exceptional and five other areas strong. Safeguarding standards are met.
Roadworks
Hills Road Cycle Lane Shut 5 Oct to 4 Dec for Gas Main
The inbound Hills Road cycle lane from Long Road to Purbeck Road is suspended for two months from 5 October while a gas main is replaced. The order is now made.
Planning
Wilberforce Road Floodlights Approved: 12 Columns to 18m
Taller floodlights for the university athletics track on Wilberforce Road won approval on 24 September over Newnham objections. Brooks Road render passed.
Community
The Arbury Social: Not-for-Profit Café Opens on Arbury Road
The Arbury Social is open at the Meadows Community Centre, 9am to 2.30pm weekdays. Its profits fund Cambridge food projects, from holiday lunches to food hubs.
Business
Uniqlo Opens in Cambridge's Grand Arcade at 9am Thursday
Uniqlo's first Cambridge store opens at 9am on Thursday 24 September at unit 33, Grand Arcade. It is the chain's 25th in the UK, 25 years after its first.
House prices
Cambridge House Prices July 2026: Falls End at £475,151
The average Cambridge home reached £475,151 in July, up £32 on a year earlier. It ends fourteen straight months of annual falls, but flats are still down 2.3%.
Charity
Bridge the Gap 2026: £57,000 Raised by 2,000 Walkers
Cambridge's college walk raised more than £57,000 on 13 September, its 26th year. The money splits equally between the hospice and Romsey Mill.
University of Cambridge
Cambridge Fourth as St Andrews Named Best UK University
Cambridge held fourth place in the Good University Guide 2027. Its own students rank it last of 146 UK universities for the clarity of its marking criteria.
Planning
Eddington: 3,800 Homes Approved, Site Doubles to 5,648
Councillors approved up to 3,800 more homes at Eddington on 16 September. The site grows to 5,648 homes, 2,648 more than the 2013 permission allowed.
Cambridge Folk Festival
Cambridge Folk Festival 2027: Early Bird Tickets Sold Out
Early bird weekend tickets sold out within three hours of the 10am release. Friday night is back for 2027, and the adult price is £160, not the £150 announced.
Roads
Cambridge Man, 33, Dies After Being Hit by Coach on A14
A 33-year-old Cambridge man died when a coach hit him on the A14 eastbound between Histon and Milton on Saturday. Police want witnesses and dashcam footage.
Health
Cambridge Psychiatrists Link Reading to Lower Dementia Risk
A Cambridge review links reading for pleasure to lower dementia risk. The one-third figure comes from an earlier Alzheimer's study and shows a link, not proof.
Business
Cambridge Touch Technologies Wound Up With £28.4m Losses
The Cambridge Science Park firm resolved to wind up on 27 August. Its last accounts show staff down to 23 and £28.4m of accumulated losses.
Business
GSK Cambridge R&D Centre: First Building Is Now Complete
The first of three buildings for GSK's 1,000-scientist centre on Cambridge Biomedical Campus is finished. GSK leaves its Stevenage R&D site by 2029.
Transport
Cambourne to Cambridge Busway Approved After 309 Objections
The government approved the £192m busway on 8 September. Buses will run into the city via Grange Road, but none on the off-road section from midnight to 6am.
Schools
Cambridge School Places 2027: 95 Extra Year 7 Spaces
Four city schools will over-admit for September 2027 because Darwin Green Academy will not be ready. Applications open on 11 September and close on 31 October.
Parking
Cambridge Castle Hill Car Park Shuts 10 to 23 September
The cheapest council car park in Cambridge and its 23 EV bays close for a fortnight of electrical work. The alternative the council suggests costs £23.50 more a day.
Property
Darwin Green Cambridge: 25% share £95,000, open day 12 Sept
L&Q puts a 25% share of a two-bed Darwin Green flat at £95,000, full value £380,000, and a three-bed house at £130,000. Open day is Saturday 12 September.
Planning
Cambridge Market Square Revamp Approved, Gates Put on Hold
Councillors approved the Market Square overhaul on 2 September, but no security gate can be installed until its design is signed off. Highways still object.
Community
Bridge the Gap 2026: Six Colleges Open on 13 September
Cambridge's college walk returns on Sunday 13 September. Waves leave Parker's Piece from 9.30am, adults are £22.50, and up to three under-16s go free.
Planning
Greater Cambridge Local Plan: 5 city drop-ins from 1 Sept
Five of the 13 Local Plan exhibitions are in Cambridge, starting at Arbury on 1 September. Comments close at 5pm on 25 September and no late ones count.
Housing
Cambridge wins £96.4m for 803 council homes, 723 social rent
Cambridge City Council takes £96.4m from Homes England for 803 homes, 723 at social rent. It is one of three councils among 33 partners, and the smallest award.
Water
Cambridge Hosepipe Ban: Why Recycled Water Can't Reach Taps
Cambridge's hosepipe ban has run since 17 July, the first in over 30 years. The new Local Plan wants water reuse on big schemes, but the law bars piping it indoors.
Community
Panda Meander Cambridge: 2027 Trail Dates and £750 Cubs
Cambridge's third Wild in Art trail opens on 20 March 2027 with about 30 giant pandas. Schools can enter a cub for £750, and artists' designs are picked in September.
Planning
Cavendish Laboratory demolition approved, starts 24 August
Six Cavendish Laboratory buildings at West Cambridge can be demolished from 24 August, after a decision issued on 19 August. Work runs to November 2027.
House prices
Cambridge house prices June 2026: down as neighbours rise
Cambridge homes averaged £471,098 in June, down £5,496 in a year. It is one of 62 English districts to fall, while South Cambridgeshire rose 4.9%.
Council
Cambridge council grants: up to £40,000, closes 22 Sept
Cambridge City Council's grant round closes midday on 22 September, awards up to £40,000 a year. The council says it is the last multi-year round.
Planning
Wolfson Court Cambridge: 408 student rooms approved
Councillors backed replacing 147 rooms at Wolfson Court, Newnham with 408, despite 21 objections. The register still shows the application awaiting decision.
Schools
Hills Road A-level results 2026: 47% A* or A, Perse 76%
Hills Road awarded 47% of grades at A* or A and 17% at A*, against 25.6% at sixth form colleges nationally. Every Cambridge figure and the remark deadline.
Business
Cambridge lands £20m hub growing organs from patient cells
Cambridge takes £20m of a £22m government package to grow organoids from NHS patients' cells and test drugs without animals. Who is in it, and what it will do.