Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

Will we get a splendid new civic quarter or will we end up with Brookgate-style blandness? See https://cambridgecivicquarter.co.uk/ for the details My own vision is a little different – have a look here. Above – inspiration from Graz City Hall in Austria (which I visited back in the mid-2000s) that provide for a nice template ofContinue reading “Cambridge Civic Quarter launches”

The Civil Society Consulting Community Interest Company published their guide in 2022 – but following the steps is easier said than done You can read their guide here. I’m not picking on this guide over the many others other than I stumbled across it/it was there. Furthermore, the criticisms and comments are more for theContinue reading “The structural barriers to following the 32 Steps to Togetherness guide”

It can seem overwhelming with all that is happening in and around our city, but we’ve faced similar challenges in decades gone by – eras that saw huge social, political, cultural, and technological changes that were not easy to predict ICYMI you can: My previous two blogposts refer to both of these. If your firstContinue reading “Creating collective responses to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus Housing Report”

The CBC has published a study produced by Lichfields on the back of Michael Gove’s announcement yesterday You can read the press release here and scroll down to the link to the report. This follows Michael Gove’s statement to Parliament on 08 April 2024 which I wrote about here. And their headline findings are… TheContinue reading “Cambridge Biomedical Campus Housing Study – April 2024”

A written statement to Parliament dropped in earlier today – which will also make for intense debate in the reoriented constituency of South Cambridgeshire too You can read Michael Gove’s statement here “Part of the Cambridge Delivery Group’s [CDG) strategy is to focus on enabling and accelerating key developments that align with the overall strategyContinue reading “Government says Cambridge Biomedical Campus to progress faster than the Local Plan”

The campaign group Living Streets (originally founded as the Pedestrians’ Association in the 1930s) published two detailed reports on bus stops by cycleways, and continuous footpaths. You can read the reports here You can also read the Neighbourhood Public Square Report by Civic Square which covers wider issues on a practical basis here. Above –Continue reading “How do you retrofit a city for walking and cycling?”

Famous last words? You can see the results here, where Coleridge councillor Anna Smith narrowed the gap further between Labour and Tories, but was unable to bridge the gap created by ministers changing the voting system for the Police & Crime Commissioner Elections from the supplementary vote (a choice of a top preference & thenContinue reading “Don’t count your political chickens before…so who won what?”

Me and Ellie Breeze (or is that ‘Ellie and I’?) of Together Culture tried out an alternative way of getting people through the door to discuss their issues with council candidates. We managed to persuade…one person! With thanks to: ….for giving up their time to participate. Part of the deal was that Ellie and IContinue reading “‘We don’t do politics’ – a snapshot in time”

BBC Look East on 29 April 2024 interviewed young adults at Basildon’s South Essex College campus about the local elections. Their responses made for sobering listening for anyone involved in politics and public policy. You can find the episode here – although sadly it won’t be up for long. Alternatively, see the tweet below AboveContinue reading “Young adults are being badly let down by political institutions – they are not preparing them for elections”

How Central Government turned local government into the place where major local decisions are made, into an administrative arm of Whitehall. Image – me at the Cambridge 105 studios off Gwydir Street by The Alex Pub You can listen to the Cambridge 105 Election Panel of 28 April 2024 here Scroll through to 36 minutesContinue reading ““You sound like technocrats! Where’s the passion?” Asks Trevor Dann of Cambridge 105 to election candidates”