Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

With the elections coming up in six months time, the declared candidates are being questioned on what their proposals are for the future of a scheme that if built, could last long into the future Back in 2016 a number of campaign groups in and around Cambridge got together to debate the Greater Cambridge CityContinue reading “Mayoral candidates debate the Cambridge Light Rail Underground Metro proposals”

Was there anything local organisations could do, or was this another failure of corporate governance and of government policy? Sometimes I get the impression that Boris Johnson’s ministerial team is in office but not in power – an epithet thrown at John Major’s Government in the early 1990s by his Chancellor Norman Lamont who resignedContinue reading “The woes of Arcadia and Debenhams hit the headlines – with inevitable job losses in Cambridge”

It would be a mistake to think such a proposal would simply be another attempt to carve out a ‘Middle Class is Magical’ enclave out of an historic working class area. Just ask Marcus Rashford MBE. The Manchester United & England footballer Marcus Rashford recently launched a reading club. This was following his campaign onContinue reading “Could The Grafton Centre host a very large bookshop as a new anchor store?”

TL:DR – Look through the list, pick one you like, go onto Abebooks (or anywhere else for that matter), find a cheapo version that costs less than the postage, buy it, read it, tweet/blog about it, give it to a local charity shop. This post stems from a Lost Cambridge piece on how old booksContinue reading “Penguin Specials – because we’ve been here before on so many contemporary issues”

TL:DR Every district, town and city will need to plan for this – and they need to start now I’m currently browsing through the index of some of the wartime era titles of the Vintage Penguin back catalogue. And it’s huge. (The RSPCA Bookshop on Mill Road, Cambridge has a big bookcase full of them).Continue reading “What is your town’s recovery plan for the post-Covid19 years?”

What happens when you put together [via Zoom of course] a group of undergraduates from various Cambridge colleges with local historians, councillors, and community activists? It sounds almost cliche to say it but I’ve been struggling to work out how Cambridge can take its local history profile up ‘to the next level’ so to speak.Continue reading “The Cambridge Hub’s Social Innovation Programme for students – and town groups”

You may have seen the headline: The article from South Cambs District Council is here, ironically illustrated by one of the most ugliest pieces of architecture within 15 miles of Cambridge, one that aesthetically tells us nothing about what the function of the building is as far as local people are concerned. As things stand,Continue reading “More planning woes at Greater Cambridge Planning, but where is the root of the problem?”

Not for the first time, the Prime Minister’s judgement has been found wanting – only this one resulted in the resignation of the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on the Ministerial Code. The statement from Cabinet Office on the Prime Minister’s decision is here. I’m not going to waste too much time on this. A fewContinue reading “That was corruption, and this is a resignation issue”

It has hit the headlines today, but the issue long pre-dates the pandemic, and more people are raising it as a problem – reflected in the nine pages of links the BBC has in its issue guide. The Chief Executive of Ipsos Mori, Ben Page put this out. Past thoughts Shortly after leaving the civilContinue reading “Loneliness in a pandemic”

And rank and file members of political parties need to call it out – irrespective of which political party does it. The BBC News article by Simon Read is here. See also Channel 4 news here. The report by the National Audit Office, both the full report and the executive summary, can be found here.Continue reading “This is corruption”