Author Archives: Cambridge Town Owl

A short post on why my candidacy and any publicity materials I put out have to be social media-heavy as opposed to leafleting the entire ward – which inevitably has its drawbacks Today was one of those days where I had to stay in bed until mid-afternoon when I managed to drag my sorry stateContinue reading “Cambridge elections – being a candidate with chronic fatigue”

Because as a teenager in 1990s Cambridge, there was very little going for us. The challenge today is the polarisation of opportunities – particularly comparing private vs state schools with the advertising of the former being much more intrusive and public-facing One of the things that comes with boomeranging back to your childhood home isContinue reading “Cambridge elections – ensuring young people count”

And if we don’t know how it functions, what hope is there for anyone in the think tanks or in Westminster who don’t live the problems that we as residents (and everyone else that makes up our city) live with on a day-to-day basis? “My city [Cambridge] is not particularly typical. It seems to sitContinue reading “Cambridge elections – how can we hope to improve our city if we don’t know how it functions?”

For those of you not aware, my name is on the list of candidates for the Queen Edith’s Ward in Cambridge for the City Council Elections in May 2023. One of the first issues that people are contacting me about is the proposed congestion charge being promoted by the Greater Cambridge Partnership. Inevitable given thatContinue reading “Cambridge Elections – the congestion charge”

And take the Combined Authority with it – replacing our system of local government with two unitary councils based around Cambridge & Peterborough respectively. If you want a headline for my proposals for the Cambridge City Council elections 2023, abolishing the GCP would be it. And I have been following this for a number ofContinue reading “Abolish the Greater Cambridge Partnership”

…unless enough of us can persuade councillors that this would be a bad idea. (And ditto a planning inspector because I’d expect the developers would appeal given the £sums involved) “What do they want to replace it with?” This Above – the proposals at https://www.camcitycentreopportunity.com/the-proposals Don’t like the proposals? Have your say in their surveyContinue reading “Developers confirm Art Deco cinema to be replaced by spreadsheet block…”

‘Travel to work’ maps from the Office for National Statistics reveal how extreme the problem is. Sadly that radical action has not been forthcoming – and it does not look likely in the short to medium term either You can view the ONS Travel to Work Maps here London’s commuter reach extends far and wideContinue reading “Cambridge cannot solve its housing issues until London’s are resolved. And that requires radical action from ministers”

Around 50 of us rocked up to the AGM of the Queen Edith’s Community Forum – one of the wards on the southern edge of Cambridge that has seen rapid growth in more ways than one during my lifetime in and around the neighbourhood. Videos: I was on filming duties for the first gathering sinceContinue reading “Dr Andy Williams [formerly] of AstraZeneca demonstrated Cambridge’s governance structure cannot handle the sci-tech boom”

The site has a long history, and despite being worn down by previous developers, residents stood their ground repeatedly – resulting in the former owners selling the site to a new investment company. Also, the new owners of The Grafton have revamped plans that you can comment on. TL/DR? See: The site is that ofContinue reading “Cherry Hinton residents grill new land owners of Coldham’s Lane site – and credit to them for doing so at short notice”