Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

It might work! The joys of ADHD (or what I think of as ND+) which makes your mind most productive at unsociable hours. (You can also play with these old rail lines superimposed onto G-Maps here) Some of you will have seen the news of the proposed ApartHotel at the old Staples site on Mitcham’sContinue reading “Playing with tramway maps for Great Cambridge at 2am”

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycock MP spoke to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire following the housing policy announcement on Newtowns You can listen to the interview here from 1h43m The Government has made ***lots*** of new announcements The challenge is keeping up with them – and then working out how they are linked to each other. Then you’veContinue reading “What the new Housing Minister said about Cambridge”

Insights from an old report from 1981 can provide insights for future education and skills policies for adults and the lifelong learning sector You can browse through the report here I found the report in Plurabelle Books of Coldham’s Road in Cambridge – you can search their online catalogue on ABE Books here. As always,Continue reading “Basic science education (refreshers) for adults”

The new Deputy Prime Minister gave the sector a lot to ponder over as Parliament dispersed for the summer recess. You can watch her statement to the Commons here, and read the press release here “And the all-important consultation?” You can read the consultation here – and if you are interested in the questions beingContinue reading “Angela Rayner’s overhaul of housing and planning policy”

The formal response from a coalition of local residents under the banner of Better Beehive Cambridge was written up in January 2024 here. This has been a long-running planning application on one of the biggest brownfield sites in Cambridge. I wrote about the proposals as submitted to The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service (with linksContinue reading “The Beehive Centre’s back with more proposed changes”

Our city will never be greater than the sum of our parts unless ministers remove the barriers (especially financial and legal) that crush local politicians, community activists, and civic society alike. Then the rest is up to us. Or rather, that doesn’t mean that in the meantime we sit back and do nothing. Whenever aContinue reading “Local government lacks a civic presence in Cambridge”

Picking up official reports, strategies, plans, and documents that will need refreshing in the face of new government policies following the general election 2024 “I didn’t know we had a walking and cycling infrastructure plan!” Well you do now – and you can read it here. “Do we have to type this now? It’s half-past-midnightContinue reading “Cambridgeshire’s walking and cycling infrastructure plan 2023”

…and more are looming. Is anyone keeping up with the impact this is having on our city and the villages surrounding it? I’m hoping The Cambridge Room (soon to be opened) will provide a space to discuss this. The calendars to keep a watch on are: As you may also have seen, the pace atContinue reading “Some significant developments have been approved in Cambridge in 2024”

The Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster publish their list of requirements for new ministers “I thought the people voted in a majority of MP-candidates that were on the Labour Party’s ticket?” You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But for the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster it feels like business as usual – and you can see their members here. They published theirContinue reading “*Congratulations new government on your election – these are our demands!*”

Over 50 people took part in the first consultation event at The Guildhall – you can sign up for the second one on 31 August, also at The Guildhall Alternatively, you can browse the consultation and fill in the initial survey This post follows on from a number of previous ones including: What local historyContinue reading “City Council leader has doubts over calls for a Cambridge unitary council”