The Greater Cambridge City Deal is considering a programme of boozy dinners, lunches and fine dining in their efforts to attract investment to Cambridge.

I’ve seen how the kind of companies we want to attract to Cambridge decide where to base their operations and the prime consideration is the presence of other companies and institutions working on relevant technologies which means there is a pool of experienced potential staff and the potential for collaboration.

The role of the Greater Cambridge City Deal is to act to ensure that Cambridge’s transport and housing provision makes the city a practical place to live and work. Central Government investment in Cambridge is primarily intended to enable councillors to prevent Cambridge’s success being constrained by congestion and unaffordable housing. I am sure when MPs nationally decided to invest in Cambridge they didn’t expect us to splurge the cash on opulent dining.

The Greater Cambridge City Deal agreement promises “£4bn of private sector investment in the Greater Cambridge area”. In order to meet that aspiration I think councillors should focus on the difficult challenges of making sure people can find appropriate places to live and can easily travel around the city and if they make the basic infrastructure of the city work people will base their activities here. The fanciest cooking from Daniel Clifford, the most ornate college dining halls, and the Mayor in his finest regalia aren’t going to persuade anyone running a company to invest in Cambridge if their staff are going to be miserable stuck in traffic and demanding higher salaries so they can afford a reasonable place to live.

Entertaining potential investors with fine dining isn’t going to persuade them to turn a blind-eye to traffic jams and house prices. Lavish hospitality isn’t going to work as a softer, cheaper and easier, route to attracting companies to Cambridge than addressing the challenges arising as a result of the city’s success.

I don’t want to see public money spent on wining and dining, I want to see the City Deal’s resources focused on our transport network, on education and training, and speeding up house building.

Linton councillor Roger Hickford, the chair of the Greater Cambridge City Deal assembly, is keen to see the idea of entertaining investors pursued. Addressing the Greater Cambridge City Deal board on the 1st of September 2016 Hickford said:

One thing I asked from the chair, because, it’s a relatively light touch of what we’re trying to do here if we were to invest more money what would be the likely results. ie. what if we did wine and dine people, what might actually be the outcome of that and I asked therefore for summary or synopsis of that to come back at her next report and that she was happy to do.

Claire Ruskin of the Cambridge Network told the Greater Cambridge City Deal board:

visiting investors … are entertained lavishly in other competing regions”

Speaking at the Greater Cambridge City Deal Assembly on the 25th of August 2016 Claire Ruskin said:

they expect us to shower them with lunches fine dining and the mayor as well

.

Claire Ruskin is a member of the Greater Cambridge City Deal Assembly, and also the CEO of the Cambridge Network, which is the organisation hosting the “Cambridge Promotions Agency” which councillors have funded via a £90,000 cash grant. £120,000 is budgeted for the period 2016-20.

I am baffled as to why councillors have given someone running a directory website and networking events such an influential role within the City Deal and why they are throwing public money at trying to market Cambridge. I think success will speak for itself and the best publicity doesn’t need to be bought.