Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

Coming up on 28th November – likely to coincide with the Devolution White Paper, these two major policy announcements will have a huge influence on the future of Cambridge & Cambridgeshire. The Transport Secretary Lou Haigh posted this on Sunday morning Above – Lou Haigh on Birdsite 24 Nov 2024 If trams become a bigContinue reading “Tram-tastic! Lou Haigh to set out Government’s vision for an Integrated National Transport Strategy”

The Government’s new major policies on the governance of England (including local government) are expected to be published in a White Paper – a statement of new or major changes to government policies, is expected in the next week. What’s interesting is that before the general election, Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner said the impression thatContinue reading “The Government’s vision for devolution in England – and the looming White Paper”

The looming Devolution White Paper has to overhaul over-complicated and convoluted structures described in the document published earlier this week. You can discuss how to improve these at The Trials of Democracy project on 23rd and 30th November at the Central Library and the Mill Road Community Centre respectively – see here Above – startingContinue reading “The Cambridge Biomedical Campus’s travel and transport plan will fail under current governance structures”

…so said Matt Johnson – Head of Development for North West Cambridge for the University of Cambridge to councillors on the Joint Development Control Committee of Cambridge City & South Cambridgeshire District Councillors Hopefully this will translate into… ***getting the long-delayed West Cambridge Swimming Pool built*** You can listen to Mr Johnson here at TheContinue reading “Eddington consultees wanted far more sports provision… …about that swimming pool”

Can Cambridge City Council ask the other applicants for permission to publish their bids and/or invite the applicants to publish their competing alternative bids? You can see 5th Studio’s thread here Above – 5th Studio Cambridge, Nov 2024 – vision for Cambridge Market Square outside The Guildhall ***Crikey that’s an improvement*** But that’s hardly aContinue reading “5th Studio’s alternative vision for Cambridge’s Civic Quarter”

More details on p4 here, where you can put your questions to one of the people who puts together train timetables, Phil Hutchinson of GTR – Thameslink to you & me Unfortunately the meeting does clash with the Mill Road Winter Fair as it does annually, but as it starts at 2.30pm (I’ve scheduled itContinue reading “RailFuture East Anglia – annual Cambridge meeting 07 Dec 2024”

Jen Williams’ article on the late Sir Howard Bernstein, the former Chief Executive of Manchester City Council from 1998-2017 provides much food for thought You can read her article here You can follow her on Bsky Here I’ve been following Jen Williams’ posts on birdsite for years and strongly recommend her writing on all thingsContinue reading “Manchester’s lessons for…Cambridge?”

I missed this from the Subnational Transport Organisation ‘England’s Economic Heartland’ as I was busy moaning about the March-Wisbech rail study, but at the same time the former published their report on rail priorities between Oxford and Cambridge It states: “EEH’s Rail Main Line Priorities Study, published today, provides a comprehensive baseline of rail inContinue reading “Another strategic transport report – this one covering Cambridge’s regional rail links”

Has *anyone* visualised what Cambridge might look like once all this building work is done? And has anyone visualised what it might be like if all of the projects go ahead with no co-ordination as seems to have been the case over the past decade? Before I start, a quick reminder I’m on Bsky –Continue reading “East West Rail’s consultation raises the big question of a Cambridge Masterplan”

The start of the statutory process at the end of which the Transport Secretary will decide whether to authorise the construction of the C-2-C busway, has begun And it’s not cheap. Above – from the estimated costs (which you can probably double if not treble given past form!) “Forty-million-smackeroonies for advisers?!?! (20% of the costs).Continue reading “GCP’s Cambourne to Cambridge busway application submitted to DfT”