At a meeting of the GCP executive board on Thursday 10 July, Cllr Milnes – who represents South Cambridgeshire District Council – was voted into his role by his peers from Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.
He takes over from Cllr Elisa Meschini, who was chair until the recent Cambridgeshire County Council elections and who now sits on the GCP joint assembly.
Cllr Brian Milnes, said:
“It is a real privilege to become the new chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership. We are an organisation which is delivering projects, infrastructure and technology to improve people’s lives and their experiences of moving around Greater Cambridge – now and in the future. Working with communities, we’ve designed, funded and delivered projects to improve the quality of life for people who live, work and study in Greater Cambridge as our area continues to grow.
“Our schemes are now becoming part of people’s every day lives. Just today I heard there’s been a 50% increase in daily cycling trips along Milton Road when you compare data from May 2025 to May 2022, and in the last 12 months, an average of over 3,000 people walk and cycle along Histon Road each day. We have two of our major transport corridor schemes going to public inquiry and Connector, our autonomous vehicle trial, has covered over 600 miles and has carried more than 130 passengers since it started. To cap it all off we have funded over 1,000 apprenticeships. And this is just the beginning.
“We’re committed to working so residents and communities can benefit from that growth and to have a greater choice in how they get to places of work, school and leisure. We have a big job to deliver the joined-up transport network which people living and working in Greater Cambridge so badly need. From the 12 Greenways to the three mass passenger transport corridors and new technology, I am excited about what we will achieve working in collaboration with the people of Greater Cambridge and our partners.
“It would be remiss of me to not mention Cllr Elisa Meschini, who was the GCP chair before me. Her hard work, enthusiasm and passion for the GCP mission will be sorely missed on our executive board but I am glad her experience and wisdom is already being put to good use at our joint assembly. She set the standards and I will do my best to match them as we work to deliver our projects and schemes.”
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is the local delivery body for a City Deal with central Government, bringing powers and investment worth up to £1bn over 15 years, to deliver vital improvements in infrastructure; supporting and accelerating the creation of 44,000 new jobs, 33,500 new homes and 420 additional apprenticeships.
The partnership of councils, business and academia works together, and with partners and local communities, to grow and share prosperity and improve the quality of life for the people of Greater Cambridge, now and in the future.
The partners are:
- Cambridge City Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
- South Cambridgeshire District Council
- University of Cambridge
- Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board