Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

The Housing and Communities Secretary published his policy paper here You can: Why the omission of adult education and lifelong learning institutions? Maybe it reflects the long-term enfeebling of what was once a prominent feature in many towns and cities, many of which crumbled in the face of long term austerity that began under MargaretContinue reading “The adult-education-shaped gap in the Government’s social cohesion policy”

Councillors on Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council will be debating their councils’ formal responses to the Government’s consultation later this month You can read the responses at: See also Cllr Katie Thornburrow’s blogpost at https://katiethornburrow.com/2026/03/lets-talk-about-the-greater-cambridge-development-corporation/ This sort of links to my earlier blogpost on the Mass Transit Study which BBC Radio CambridgeshireContinue reading “Councils publish draft responses on Cambridge Development Corporation proposals”

The Combined Authority Mayor has a manifesto commitment for a light rail for Cambridge. It will be interesting if the consultants WSP support him when they publish their report You can read: And for those of you that want to table public questions to the CPCA Mayor, see the next CPCA Board Meeting on 18thContinue reading “Cambridge Growth Company announces new Mass Rapid Transit study”

…that even communism is back! I stumbled across their latest round of flyposting while picking up a few things on the way back from the East West Rail consultation on Cambridge East Station. (Nothing more to add to what I wrote late last year here) Normally such posters rarely get this far out from theContinue reading “Inequalities in Cambridge have reached such extremes…”

The college commissioned Bidwells to undertake an accommodation needs assessment for the college’s student population. The results – which are included in a new planning application to Cambridge City Council, are striking. Being the sad so-and-so who doesn’t get out much due to CFS/ME amongst other things, I end up browsing through planning applications inContinue reading “Has Wolfson College expanded its student numbers too quickly?”

Chairman Peter Freeman confirms the proposed development corporation is not looking to build a parallel planning service – but senior councillors remain concerned. At a public event at The Grafton Centre in the expanded Cambridge Room a group of councillors, local government officers, industry professionals, campaigners, and curious residents heard from the Chair of theContinue reading “Cambridge Growth Company’s negotiations with councils’ town planning service”

MPs pass the Representation of the People Bill at Second Reading – which means they approve of the principles and key policies in the legislation Image: Trials of democracy. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu Votes at 16 “…was a manifesto commitment by the Labour Party. Approximately 1.7 million young peopleContinue reading “Representation of the People Bill – Commons approves votes at 16 principle”

Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways Committee meets on 03 March 2026 with a big list of funding for repairs to vote through – but will some of their works make things worse in hot summers? Also, some leisure ideas from Huntingdonshire – Lots! You can read the meeting papers here There’s £58 million of works budgetedContinue reading “County Council in potholes and pavements update – and ideas for leisure amenities”

Can you remember the Quango that was operational between 2004-2011? I can! (Sort of.) It was very early in my civil service days and us young early-mid 20-somethings would watch lots of people going into meetings with lots of papers to discuss things that …had lots of long words and big concepts in them butContinue reading “Cambridgeshire Horizons vs Cambridge Growth Company”

In designs I’ve labelled as ‘worse than communism’, the developers who are meant to be partners with Cambridge City Council are now saying they cannot proceed with the affordable housing element because it won’t make a big enough profit for them Hence…their proposal to apply to Homes England for a subsidy It’s the regeneration ofContinue reading “Will Homes England subsidise council flats redevelopment?”