Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

And if not, can we generate enough of it to shape our city’s future in the run up to the general election? Before I start, a quick reminder of the two events coming up this month on Cambridge’s past and its future, both being held at the Central Library in Lion Yard, Cambridge See https://cambridgetownowl.com/workshops/Continue reading “Civic Spirit in Cambridge – do we have any?”

…by failing to meet even the basic legal requirements on the minimum wage – let alone the Cambridge Living Wage, for those on the lowest incomes. Pictured – the student-led Cambridge Land Justice Campaign – which is campaigning on inequalities issues associated with the University of Cambridge During my various periods of house-bound boredom IContinue reading “Cambridge University’s colleges risk undermining the impact of the University’s research…”

I was looking at another planning application that, yet again replaces a not-particularly inspiring building with one that’s even worse It’s on Castle Hill at the Histon Road Junction by Mount [not so] Pleasant. Before Proposed ****Oooooooh!!!! Ugly Sh****te!!!**** At this rate I’m gonna be rockin’ up to a future planning committee and playing thisContinue reading “Cambridge, why are the main routes into our city filled with dull buildings?”

Today’s Cambridge Arts Network conference at The Guildhall saw delegates grappling with increasingly frustrating issues as the powerlessness of the people and small institutions became more than apparent In our globally-recognised city that is run like a market town, our city’s arts networks (including the Cambridge Arts Network, and CamCreatives) tried to unpick a numberContinue reading “Cambridge Arts Network takes on some very difficult challenges”

The Levelling Up Committee of the House of Commons took evidence earlier today – and came out with some damning quotations about the construction industry’s failures to accommodate children and young people. Image: Remember the Cambridge Playlaws project? You can read through the written submissions here. (I originally thought there were only three – whichContinue reading “Designing child-friendly communities”

The ex-Labour Cabinet Minister, now multi-tasking as an academic and a TV breakfast show worked with a team of researchers at Harvard, MIT, and UCL, to examine the massive regional inequalities in the UK which was published in Feb 2024. Pictured: East of England Regional Plan 2010 They are part of a series of papersContinue reading “Regional Government again – Ed Balls at Harvard”

These could be of interest to existing residents beyond the neighbouring wards – especially when it comes to our existing civic and social infrastructure gaps. You can see the timetable below Above – from South Cambridgeshire District Council The ones delivered in partnership with Cambridge City Council are: To get a feel for some ofContinue reading “A new round of community forums covering housing developments on the edge of Cambridge – 2024”

…especially when so many of your tenant and member organisations are struggling to recruit suitably qualified staff to fill vacancies This was the point I put to the representatives of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus following their speeches at the Queen Edith’s Community Forum AGM earlier. (See my previous blogpost) The exclusive institutional culture of theContinue reading “‘You can’t build the biggest employment site in Cambridge and not have a lifelong learning centre on it’”

Three gatherings in two days with a trio of very different groups of people gave me a snapshot of where our city is at – along with its structural weaknesses and our civic potential. One gathering was running a workshop on the relationship between central and local government for the Cambridge University Climate Society, anotherContinue reading “New community event organising in South Cambridge”

What are they, how do they work, and what might they be used for? And what are their drawbacks? (Image: From Brighter Citizens, 1947) Some of you may remember Keith Garrett from Cambridge who has stood at the last three general elections as a candidate in Cambridge for Rebooting Democracy (2015, 2017, 2019 – youContinue reading “‘Labour would introduce citizens’ assemblies’”