Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

The long and controversial process on this busway will shortly go to a public inquiry as the deadline for objections – 08 Jan 2025, approaches. (If you want to submit your own objection (or alternatively, a letter of support), see here). See also Menagerie Theatre’s The Trials of Democracy project and their new events startingContinue reading “Cambridge Charity submits objection to GCP’s Cambourne to Cambridge busway”

I got hit by a social media advert on this one, but there was something about the video that raised a few diversity issue flags So this landed and I shared it on my Cambridge Town Owl FB page which is where I often re-post city-wide community things. It was also not long after IContinue reading “I can’t believe it’s another new Cambridge community choir!”

Does planning law enable such things to be imposed by local councils? The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service has re-publicised its trio of consultations here, covering: Additionally, please watch the video here from the GCSP and share the link to anyone interested. Commenting on the consultation   On the Planning Obligations, there are only 23 chapters,Continue reading “Should student accommodation developments make financial contributions towards social housing?”

Imagine Scouts or Guides but for adults. Then cram it all into a single day while running around Cambridge in groups of four, competing against over 100 other people. It’s coming to Cambridge in April 2025 “On April 26th up to 30 teams of Rebels will be hitting the streets of Cambridge to play aContinue reading “Have badges, will rebel”

The City Council’s Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee will be discussing this in two weeks time See item 6 of the meeting papers here. If there are lots of public questions, I suggest councillors extend the amount of time people can ask them, or have the public questions held at the start of each substantiveContinue reading “Cambridge City Council says East West Rail should build an eastern entrance to Cambridge Railway Station”

Papers published by Cambridge City Council for a meeting on 14 January 2025 will discuss what the statistics say – and you can throw your public Qs in too! See the following: What the housing report says For starters, the report writers and council officers should consider a ‘dashboard’ summary sheet at the front ofContinue reading “Cambridge house-building stats 2023-24 published – how did we do?”

I have no idea how this will end or tail off either – and given my chronic ill-health I know I’ll never pay off my loan, which had I been able to carry on working would have been paid off long ago. Image: How to be a Minister – from John Hutton’s book – asContinue reading “Is anyone monitoring the student loan bubble?”

As the two-tier structure of local government for Cambridge comes to an end, ministers and their policy advisers must be told that continuing with enfeebled powers of revenue raising risks increasing, rather than decreasing the chronic inequalities in and around our city – both geographically and in magnitude. Image – from Menagerie Theatre’s council-funded projectContinue reading “No Strawberry Fair or Big Weekend events in Cambridge in 2025”

You may have seen the headlines earlier on here. There’s little that regulators can do to achieve new growth figures in time for the Sunday morning paper review. Also, it’s a slow news weekend so why the rush? Image – Whitehall and Westminster still confusing? Here’s a guide from the olden days: Because it’s YourContinue reading “Do headlines on Sir Keir demanding growth policies reflect narrow thinking in Westminster?”

As Cambridge’s community and amateur (i.e. not paid professional, or church/chapel choirs) have a breather over the festive break, the popularity of both their groups and audiences collectively might be telling us something about the sort of city we want to become That’s not the same as appropriating every single person’s motivation to participate inContinue reading “It’s like Cambridge’s popular singing groups are trying to tell our city something”