Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

These policies must include proposed new powers to tax the wealth generated in the region to pay for solutions to our chronic skills shortages that the employers themselves persistently complain about One huge problem is that the larger employers are not meeting their potential new employees where they are at in life. Furthermore, the policiesContinue reading “Mayoral candidates will need a comprehensive set of policies on lifelong learning”

Only I’m bored of asking, and I really don’t think that any city should have its local council or municipal authority outsourcing the function to an under-funded quango whose remit is aimed at visitors to our city rather than the people who actually live in it. Otherwise they wouldn’t be called Visit Cambridge – notingContinue reading “Can we have a single events portal for Cambridge?”

It’s a long-overdue decision, and one that takes into account of a host of wider changes offline as well as online, 14 years and 35 days after setting up my first account. Above – that’s me locking up on the site formerly known as Twitter. I have no plans for posting any new content orContinue reading “My rapid rise and fall with social media as I quit Birdsite”

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: Planning obligations that cover the negative impacts of development, and contributions towards much needed physical, social, and environmental infrastructure The Cambridge Biomedical Campus The Health Impact Assessment Additionally, pleaseContinue 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: Item 5 and annexes for housing construction stats Item 6 on the Council’s views on East West Rail (another thing to as PQsContinue 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?”