Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

…rather than a medical issue, something raised in The Lancet. I’ve written more than my fair share about loneliness because it’s a part of my life – to the extent that I’ve been exploring the public policy issues behind it. I wrote this piece shortly after I came out of hospital this time last year,Continue reading “Treating the causes of loneliness as a public policy issue”

Absolutely nothing if they don’t get elected at the next general election. In the meantime, have a read. The main point to note is the consultation that effectively begins now. Above – A New Britain, p146 Furthermore in the executive summary, note the point on ‘localism’ “The common desire for more local control should beContinue reading “Labour’s new plan for Britain – what does it mean for Cambridge?”

On Mill Road Winter Fair 2022 day, Rail Future had one of their regional meetings at The Signal Box around the corner from the main railway station in Cambridge. And the latter was absolutely jam packed as in previous years. Above: NEWZ-SPOOF: “Hordes of anti-car activists block main road into Cambridge” One thing that MillContinue reading “Rail Future East challenges Cambridge’s Sci/Tech bubble to take note of our city’s regional connections”

…and if they do not volunteer to fund it, the next government should pass the necessary legislation to make them. All of this stems from yet another overturned decision by a Central Government-Appointed Planning Inspector following a decision by the Joint Develop Control Committee of Cambridge City Council, and South Cambridgeshire District Council on 27Continue reading “The East Cambridge Tech firms & landowners should pay for a new Fulbourn Railway/Light Rail Station”

The Communities, Social Mobility and Inclusion Committee of Cambridgeshire County Council is considering hosting tourist information offices within their library functions – which were formerly a function of Cambridge City Council and sister district councils in previous generations. You can read the papers for their meeting on 08 Dec 2022 here. It’s item 9. AboveContinue reading “The fate of Cambridge’s Tourist Information Centre reflects the mess of our city’s governance structures”

…and there’s still four weeks to go. You can watch the full presentation and the Q&A responses here. Highlights include: Both the current and former Mayor have spoken out against the proposed road user/congestion charging, and lined up a series of Qs and points for Mr Blake to deal with. The figure of 11,000 figureContinue reading “11,000 responses and counting to the Greater Cambridge consultation on city access”

We saw our first anti-road user/congestion charging protest marches in Cambridge today. The pro-Sustainable Transport Zone demonstration takes place on 10 December – in two weeks time. Road user pricing and congestion charging is not new. The Ministry of Transport as was published its report on road pricing in 1964 – you can read itContinue reading “Cambridge divided and ruled on road user charging”

It’s in the Conservative Party’s General Election Manifesto 2019. Which if you see manifesto commitments as sacrosanct, means all those that campaigned on it back every single policy in that manifesto without question, complaint, or quibble. The compromising paragraph is on page 31. (You can find the document in a simple online search). “Through bodiesContinue reading “The OxCam Arc is back – under a different structure. And Ministers own it.”

The new proposals turn much of the site into lab and tech space, and supporting office space – with no room for the proposed hotel that got planning permission pre-Lockdown. You can see the consultation at https://www.graftoncentreconsultation.co.uk/ Above – the first set of proposals. I still think it’s the wrong call. But under the presentContinue reading “New labs for old shops at The Grafton Centre – but what will councillors say?”

Do politicians and regulators understand the social impact of decisions being taken by the tech giants? Do they know how to respond? (In the meantime, I’ve gone to the pre-historic elephant setup @AntonyCarpen@mastodon.green ) This post caught my eye. It’s worth reading the full version here by Mic Wright. The rise and fall of socialContinue reading “Do our political institutions know how to deal with the social fallout of imploding digital media platforms?”