Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

You can read about them here, and can browse through their member organisations here. This post invites Cambridge Ahead to engage systematically with people and organisations in the arts, sports, and leisure industries in the context of the future of Cambridge, including networks such as the Cambridge Art Network. “Who has the power to makeContinue reading “Cambridge Ahead will need a strategy to engage with non-members in order to deliver on its vision & purpose”

I was moaning earlier on about the lack of local council coverage in Cambridge’s daily newspaper the Cambridge News – formerly the Cambridge Evening News when I delivered it during my early teens on my paper round in the early 1990s. The one prize reporting role they used to have was the Local Government CorrespondentContinue reading “Reach PLC is damaging a historic newspaper brand – and it doesn’t need to”

Can we make use of the emerging local plan to help with this? For example not building all over every spare green space there is? ***Not another report!*** #SorryNotSorry You can read the full report here. The headlines make for depressing reading in terms of both the impact of Covid (£600million of revenue lost toContinue reading “How do we secure the future of public sport and leisure services?”

The *earliest* it can open is 2035. Which means a five year gap between the start of the 2030 local planning period and when the first new homes in that period can be occupied Read Anglian Water’s document here. You can see the concept below. Above – p8 – projected area where a reservoir couldContinue reading “Early plans for a reservoir in the Fens to water Cambridge & South Cambs”

The sheer volume of information contained in the online document library is so great as to be intimidating even to this old hand. Fortunately there is enough time to put together something radical that could make this critical local plan one that has far more engagement with the people of Gtr Cambridge, and one thatContinue reading “Greater Cambridge Planning will need a very different sort of communications strategy for this new local plan 2030-41”

So I don’t forget – but also it covers sites and issues that would have been missed out in the call for sites. Which involves comparing the First Proposals map here… (and screengrabbed below…) …with the site submissions map from developers and landowners here – and also screengrabbed below: One thing to note is thatContinue reading “Comparing the first sites selected for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan 2030-41 with those submitted”

How do the 24 visions published in 2015 look today, having been through Brexit and still in the midst of a global pandemic? Being stuck indoors for much of the time these days sort of has its advantages when exploring through published documents, but I wouldn’t wish brainfog or chronic fatigue on anyone. I’m sortContinue reading “Visions for Cambridge 2065 in a climate emergency”

This may inform our generation of what we need to consider on behalf of future generations that will have to live with our decisions. Let’s go straight to 1934 – W.R. Davidge’s Cambridgeshire Regional Plan I digitised it and uploaded it here for everyone to read. The context is straight forward: This was the firstContinue reading “How does the draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan 2030-41 compare with its distant predecessors?”

Because it’s a monster of a document – and is too important to leave to the passionate few and/or those paid to work with it. I’ve got no headspace for this because I’ve caught a nasty cold virus in the middle of a heatwave, so bear with me. (And/or please donate to my lemsip fund!)Continue reading “Breaking down the draft Gtr Cambridge Local Plan 2030-41 into bitesize chunks”

Can we get developers and land owners debating with local residents and campaign groups prior to the formal hearings – and thrash out what needs to be said to each other in advance? You can read the story and look at the map here. There is *so much* that I could write in the faceContinue reading “Can Greater Cambridge do its next local plan differently this time?”