Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

The contrast between the corporate report on Cambridge University’s Economic Impact written by consultants London Economics (which I wrote about here) shows the difference that going out to where people are to listen to them, can make. TL/DR? Read pages 8-9 of the PDF here. You can read the full report here. It was researchedContinue reading “Cambridge Ahead’s Young Advisory Committee had a choice to look. And did. Their report is worth reading.”

A newly-published review of Cambridge’s economic impact by London Economics is (not surprisingly London-centric, and underplays some of the serious economic issues in and around our city – ones with significant social and environmental externalities that economists should be more than familiar with by now. You can read the Economic Impact Report (EIR) here TL/DR:Continue reading “Cambridge University had a choice to look. And didn’t. Despite calls from its own members.”

The Boundary Commission will present its final recommendations to Parliament in a few months time, proposing an additional constituency for Cambridgeshire (due to rising population in the face of the property boom/house building/sci-tech bubble). The result? Cambridge will be encompassed by three constituencies, instead of two. Which would you choose? (Also a reminder for https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/Continue reading “MP for South Cambs accused of abandoning South Cambs following redrawn constituency boundaries”

Do you remember Big Society [pictured]? Or was it “Levelling Up?” Either way, the collapse of local government in England in the face of outsourcing, cost-cutting, and Treasury cuts has had a devastating impact on community groups that rely on a properly-functioning local council. The announcement that The Big Weekend 2023 having been cancelled wasContinue reading “From ‘Big Society’ to ‘Culture wars’, ministers misjudged the essential links between local government and community groups”

The charity founded as the Cambridge Preservation Society call out the behaviour of one of Cambridge’s most controversial firms. TL/DR? ….and judge for yourselves. It’s a controversy that future generations will argue over just as the one before my return to Cambridge did with the proposals for the redevelopment of Cambridge Station. On my wayContinue reading “Cambridge Past, Present, & Future slam Brookgate’s ‘Great Wall of North East Cambridge’”

The Greater Cambridge Partnership senior officers and board members past and present of all three political parties, and the ministers that created the institution, only have themselves to blame. You can read the following: Residents in and around Cambridge (i.e. South Cambridgeshire district, and southern Cambridgeshire generally) have been protesting about a whole host ofContinue reading “Why the call for a referendum on congestion charging for Cambridge is flawed – but is not the fault of those signing it.”

…and MPs are not happy. Neither are others with proposals for regional committees of MPs to scrutinise combined authorities Scrutiny and accountability between elections has always been a problem for combined authorities and metro mayors. In late October 2022 (just over four months ago,) MPs on the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional AffairsContinue reading “Gove dismisses calls for an overhaul of how England is governed”

***Wow! This is rare!*** It has been decades since the Cambridge Conservatives organised a public meeting in Cambridge, let alone showcasing four election candidates at the same time. But the proposed road user charging / congestion charging plans from the Greater Cambridge Partnership (ironically established by the Conservative-led Coalition Government along with Conservative-led South CambsContinue reading “Cambridge Tories to host public meeting in Cherry Hinton”

It may feel like quite heavy listening, but it’s essential for anyone who wants to get a feel for how national policies set in Whitehall (my old neck of the woods) affects town planning decisions in local neighbourhoods. You can listen to the full show here on Cambridge 105. See also Cllr Sam Davies’ commentaryContinue reading “Cambridge’s challenges on town planning – on Cambridge 105 with former Chief Town Planner Peter Studdert & Cllrs Lewis Herbert, & Sam Davies MBE”

Looking at the reaction to *that* tweet. One of the most thoughtful of responses was from historian Robert Saunders “If fascism becomes simply a grotesque anomaly, which others committed and ‘we’ defeated, it becomes impossible to relate any part of it to our own experience. Paradoxically, it becomes a source of complacency that assures usContinue reading “What does the BBC do when it becomes the news? (As Gary Lineker stands his ground)”