Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

At the same time, Huntingdonshire District Councillors debated a Motion of No Confidence in the council leader (which may or may not have finished by the time I finish this blogpost!) In a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon Mr Ben Obese Jecty raised issues over both the delay on aContinue reading “Minister for Local Government delays decision on Cambridgeshire’s future until October 2026”

Only for a few weeks mind you – because the political parties have their annual conferences in late September/Early October Image: From the Trials of Democracy project by Menagerie Theatre from 2024 You can: Labour get theirs out of the way early I’m sure it used to be the party in government was the oneContinue reading “Parliament returns – Autumn 2026”

The announcement came earlier today (26 August 2026) highlighting a new piece of legislation that will be tabled by ministers on the water industry. For those of you not familiar with the essentials, have a listen to The Cambridge Radio podcast hosted by Lewis Herbert here from 12 July 2026 where he interviews Deputy ChiefContinue reading “Greater Cambridge Development Corporation re-opens search for Chief Executive”

The announcement from the Prime Minister and the Housing Secretary enables the redevelopment of Hanover and Princess Court to go ahead with the new council housing as planned (It’s worth noting that Cambridge City Council is a net contributor to HM Treasury on business rates to the tune of over £100million per year and theContinue reading “Government gives Cambridge City Council £96m to build hundreds of council homes”

The embargo on the new policy has just been lifted. This alongside announcements on building on rural land near railway stations linked to key cities, and Mayoral overrides on large development applications inevitably raises concerns about environmental protection. Image: Spitting Image’s Camberwick Greenbelt from the clip here from 75s in, lampooning arch-Thatcherite Nicholas Ridley MP,Continue reading “Andy Burnham brings back council house-building at scale”

The MP-Candidate for Cambridge Liberal Democrats, Cllr Cheney Payne (Castle Ward on Cambridge City Council) on what residents are telling her about our city You can ‘Residents are telling me that Cambridge is starting to feel run down’ Above – Cllr Cheney Payne (LibDems – Castle) 19 August 2026 “Starting? It already is and hasContinue reading “‘Cambridge is starting to feel run down’ Cllr Cheney Payne of Cambridge Liberal Democrats”

And in my case, climate despondency. Because I can’t see how things are going to get any better climate-wise in my lifetime. Image: Nightingale Rec off Queen Edith’s Way, Cambridge. 09 August 2026 I took this photo of Nightingale Rec on 09 August 2026. I’ve not noticed any rain since then, and the amount neededContinue reading “Climate grief in face of droughts and wildfires”

This follows a consultation from ages ago (December 2025) which set out new standards to enable medium-high density developments to be built in places where sustainable rail transport links already exist You can: Also, I wrote about it here which listed 12 points in the consultation document “Under the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework,Continue reading “Government confirms plans to allow building close to existing railway stations”

Some of you may have seen the article in BBC Cambridgeshire here – there are a couple of council/committee meetings coming up for you to put questions to councillors on this Talking of buses, the Cambridge Bus Users have posted an update following their AGM which you can read here. Buses and extreme heat LondonContinue reading “‘Significant’ drop-off in busway passengers – put your Qs to councillors”

The footage of Holme Fen in northern Cambridgeshire taken by the firefighters of Biggleswade Community Fire Station (down the from Peterborough) is more than a wake-up call informing the public of the age we are now in. Image – From Biggleswade Community Fire Station via BBC Cambridgeshire Before I start, just a quick note aboutContinue reading “‘We didn’t start the fire’ – but our economic system poured fuel on it”