Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

Did you know Cambridge had them? If so, have you been to one? What was it like for you? When I first found out about these, I took them literally. Well…they did invite everyone! https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/get-involved-at-your-local-area-committee. You can also see the calendar of monthly meetings here. Unfortunately this is only for Cambridge City Council meetings. IdeallyContinue reading “Reinventing Cambridge’s ‘area committees’”

And we’ll need to – physical and metaphorical if we are to reconnect our city and make it greater than the sum of our parts. I think the phrase will stick with me for the rest of my life. I mentioned the idea of creating and endowing a new local history institute or unit atContinue reading ““Build bridges” said the late Mayor Nigel Gawthrope”

…but not stopping there. Because if we can’t bring back both the Mill Road Library and the Hobson Street Cinema back into public use, we may as well all go back home. I noticed that the County Council will be discussing its priorities for the Libraries service on Thurs 04 March 2021. You can readContinue reading “Rebuilding civic society in Cambridge – starting with the Mill Road Library…”

This post follows on from the list of ideas for improving Cambridge, which in the grand scheme of things involved building new things. This one is less about building new things that you could see from the street – such as a building, and looking more at the things people can/cannot do, as well asContinue reading “How do we repair our fragmented and broken city?”

…and less than three months before the county goes to the polls to elect a new county council The report by John Elworthy of the Cambridgeshire Times stable of newspapers is here. Part of the Archant Group, the county titles include the Hunts Post, Ely Standard, and Wisbech Standard. For those of you close toContinue reading “Deputy Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council quits over FarmGate”

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have proposed demolishing the Queen Anne Terrace Car Park. So what other big things could Cambridge do? (And not just concert halls & museums). It was their proposal a few weeks ago that caught my eye that covered some interesting things in the run up to the budget debate for Cambridge CityContinue reading “A list of ideas for improving Cambridge – one for election candidates to pick & choose from”

There are a number of local elections coming up in May 2021 – including the ones that were postponed from 2020. Alya Zayed has produced this guide for the Cambridge News for people living in Cambridge City. You can find out which elections are happening where you live via: The Electoral Commission here Democracy Club’sContinue reading “Who will organise public debates / hustings for local elections? And who will live stream them?”

This one us up before the local council’s planning committee on 19 Feb 2021 (so am writing this the day before). You can read Ben Hatton’s assessment in the Cambridge Independent here. This development links five settlements together about ten miles to the west of Cambridge. You can read about what has been promised here.Continue reading “Bourne Airfield – a new development up before planners in South Cambridgeshire”

…and how can parties, activists, campaign groups, and even the local media assist in getting more people involved in the debates, and make it more that just about day-to-day issues (bins & potholes) or things outside of local council’s remit (Brexit, immigration)? This post looks at who has published what that might make for interestingContinue reading “Who will have the most inspiring future vision for Cambridge & County at the local elections in May 2021?”

Some of you may have seen the headlines proposing a new Westley Green on that is to be East of Cambridge. If you get me. 9.7) “New settlements have the benefit of starting from scratch. They allow the core areas to be suitably sized to meet the future anticipated needs and ensure that transport infrastructureContinue reading “Six Mile Bottom Newtown east of Cambridge”