Benedict Binns has played a key role in shaping Cambridge’s regeneration efforts, ensuring new developments meet housing demands while respecting the city’s heritage. He oversees the delivery of council housing, mixed-tenure schemes and major infrastructure projects, balancing urban growth with financial viability and community engagement. In an interview with Real Estate Business Review Europe, Binns offers insights on navigating land constraints, forming strong collaborations and keeping people at the centre of every project.
The Journey to Urban Regeneration My 15-year career in development began with housing and sustainability before expanding into large-scale regeneration. Experiencing how thoughtful planning, strong partnerships and community engagement can transform a city has shaped my approach to development. In my current role, I focus on housing and regeneration, but the scope has expanded to include capital projects like the civic quarter. A significant aspect of the work involves regenerating council-owned estates, which often have out-of-date homes that are costly or unaffordable to maintain, delivering mixed-tenure developments that re-provide new, sustainable, high-quality council homes, enhancing placemaking, de-risk projects and cross-subsidise the housing program. These developments consist of commercial facilities as well as community facilities, including community centres, libraries, preschools, parks and open spaces. “Success comes from equal partnerships, which have worked well for us. Maintaining equality has been essential, as joint ventures often become imbalanced when one partner dominates. I strongly believe in this approach for the council, as shared reward is one of its main benefits.” Beyond housing, my team is involved in other major projects, including one of our largest initiatives which is reimagining the Guildhall (the ‘city hall’ for Cambridge), Cambridge Market and the Corn Exchange, a music venue. Navigating Constraints to Build Better Land is scarce within Cambridge’s city council boundary. Much of the open space is protected and highly valued, making development opportunities increasingly difficult. Managing existing residents in regeneration areas presents a financial challenge. The council must either assist with relocation costs or negotiate the purchase of homes from leaseholders and freeholders, requiring careful dialogue and engagement with the community. Cambridge has a housing affordability crisis, with a long waiting list for council housing. We have to look at increasing density and building at greater heights to address the need for more homes. While this is becoming more common, it still presents challenges. Planning obstacles and community concerns exist, as many people want to preserve Cambridge's heritage and history. Balancing these factors while meeting housing demand requires careful coordination between developers, planners and the community. Viability is another underlying issue, especially with rising construction costs, though these have stabilised. In city centre developments, brownfield sites are often the only option, but they also pose challenges related to remediation. The Power of Effective Partnerships Our housing regeneration projects have thrived through a joint venture with Hill, a regional housebuilder renowned for creating a range of beautiful and award-winning new homes across London and the South East. We have delivered over 1,000 homes, including 650+ net new council homes. The rest are for private sale, helping to address the need for additional homes but moreover any profit from the sale of these homes is reinvested into building more council homes and community facilities. The partnership adopts a deadlock structure, preventing either party from making unilateral decisions and ensuring a collaborative approach that aligns all objectives. Hill provides expertise in planning, technical aspects and construction, while the council contributes land, political oversight and community management. We also ensure that our council homes meet our requirements. Success comes from equal partnerships, which have worked well for us. Maintaining equality has been essential, as joint ventures often become imbalanced when one partner dominates. I strongly believe in this approach for the council, as shared reward is one of its main benefits. We share sale profits while sharing risk, which is especially important given the financial constraints. With global economic instability rising, including tariffs and other factors that may destabilise the market, risk-sharing is particularly valuable for the council. Having a partner with expertise in building market and council homes further strengthens our position. This approach also supports securing institutional investment, particularly from Homes England, a government agency supporting housing development. To deliver more, we need central government subsidies, which we can match with council funding. Our healthy pipeline could provide around 2,000 additional homes by 2030 with proper financial support, making institutional funding critical to our plans. Earning Community Trust Before Laying the First Brick Each developer engages with the community differently, and our approach involves at least one pre-application consultation to gather feedback and secure buy-in for the development. Many residents are on the council’s waiting list, searching for their first home or looking to live closer to work in Cambridge’s city centre, while others are seeking improved placemaking and better housing for all. Balancing these priorities means addressing concerns about sustainability and biodiversity. Each development is designed with energy efficiency, biodiversity standards and tree preservation in mind, ensuring that new estates are future- proofed and climate-resilient. Some residents strongly oppose development, and we address that concern directly. Meeting people with honesty and transparency, even when they disagree, helps build mutual respect and acknowledges the importance of open dialogue. Calling Future Urban Planners to Action The national government has made a political commitment to prioritising housebuilding, placemaking, regeneration and infrastructure. This makes it an exciting time for council teams and presents a strong opportunity to work for a local council. For those interested in development and seeking more sustainable growth alongside an increase in council housing, councils offer a way to contribute to building more homes. There are numerous opportunities to work for the council, allowing professionals to transition across asset management and the broader aspects in which councils are involved. It is not just about building houses for the sake of housing—it is about looking to the future. Councils have a long-term responsibility as custodians of the built environment, ensuring new housing aligns with net-zero commitments and considering what communities will look like in 50 years. Working in local government means being directly involved in democracy. Policies set by elected officials guide the work, and council teams are responsible for delivering them based on these policies, with direct ongoing engagement with residents as plans develop. This direct involvement in shaping communities makes local government an appealing and meaningful career path for those looking to make a tangible impact.