Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

Image – from the old Cambridge College of Further Education, which merged with CCAT and then hived off to form what is now Cambridge Regional College. One of my most persistent criticisms of successive governments has been over the very narrow criteria put in place for funding adult education services. Since Margaret Thatcher’s Government, theContinue reading “Adult skills provision to get a revamp – but will the remit remain a narrow work-based one?”

Huntingdonshire District (formerly a county in its own right until the 1960s) and Suffolk County Council have published a number of documents inviting residents to comment on the future of housing and transport for their areas. You can see the following: Within / linked to those are: “Why does this matter to Cambridge?” Because theContinue reading “Suffolk and Huntingdonshire launch transport and housing consultations”

…mindful that they were imagining a Cambridge in 2065… Former councillor Sam Davies MBE (now of pastures new) reminded me of the Cambridge 2065 document here. And one particular quotation via this exchange which I’ve highlighted below. Above – Cambridge 2065 (2014) p40 What makes that quotation from Prof Jeremy Sanders interesting is that whenContinue reading “How do the visions of Cambridge’s future written in 2014 read in 2024?”

According to the timetable it was due to be published by 30th September – but I guess the general election got in the way. “Two blogposts in a row?” Yes – and as for the image, I’m convinced that a light rail such as Cambridge Connect propose, is key to having a workable destination managementContinue reading “Cambridge’s tourism / destination management plan overdue”

I’m familiar with several of the people who are going to this event so have signed up for it with my local residents’ forum hat on. (Which means I have to behave!) You can sign up here – and I think it’s important that a critical mass of people who have both ‘lived through’ whatContinue reading “Property industry comes to Cambridge to talk social responsibility”

The Combined Authority has published a monster meeting pack with ***lots of pictures*** (because it’s nearly 50MB in size). In the meantime, a reminder that Cambridge’s council house waiting list is over 2,800 You can read the CPCA papers here, and see the council housing table from the city council at item 6a (p11 ofContinue reading “Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2050 – with quirky characters too”

Despite the over 1,300 signatures on the petition to save the library for community use, it looks like Cambridgeshire County Council have agreed to dispose of the old library building that was originally built by Cambridge Borough Council in 1897 at the expense of the rate payers of the era You can read the meetingContinue reading “County Council officers recommend sale of Mill Road Library while trying to safeguard community use”

It’s bone-grindingly frustrating trying to find accurate data on the ever-changing housing situation in and around Cambridge. On top of that, the local government structures, alongside laws that govern the property and education sectors do not allow councils to limit the activities that, without restrictions on expansion can harm the greater good of the city.Continue reading “Short term letting and Cambridge’s housing crisis”

Trust me to spot the thing at 20 minutes to midnight… It’s being debated by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Health and Wellbeing Board on 11 October 2024 at Peterborough Town Hall [You’re a city – you have a cathedral down the road from your council’s HQ!] “I didn’t know we had a health and wellbeingContinue reading “Joint Strategic Needs Assessment – very important, have you heard of it?”

At the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Board Meeting (see the papers here), Board Members voted to approve moving to the next stage for the Cambridge South East Transport project – but not without having addressed issues raised repeatedly by pro-rail/light rail campaigners first First of all my thanks to Cllr Elisa Meschini (Labour – King’s Hedges),Continue reading “Dr Andy Williams says Cambridge’s ‘overcomplex governance structures’ led to major delays in large transport projects”