Category Archives: Uncategorized

Only this has dragged on for long enough – and the county already has a huge shortage of display space for historical and archaeological finds from recent infrastructure projects. Yet this is a symptom of a wider malaise in local government not just in our county, but nationwide. “Future of Shire Hall in question againContinue reading “Look, if you can’t decide what do to with the old Shire Hall, let the people of our city turn it into a museum and gallery”

Strikingly little publicity for a move that brings the rest of the UK in line with Scotland that brought in votes at 16 back in 2014 This really should have been part of an oral statement to Parliament, and given far more publicity by the media because it is such a significant change – evenContinue reading “Minister confirms Votes at 16 for all UK elections”

…nor is it ‘the greatest small city in the world’ – because great cities large and small would not have such defunct governance systems, nor would they have such huge levels of inequality Image – from Prof Josh Ryan-Collins’s report on demand for housing as an investment Former Queen Edith’s councillor Sam Davies spotted thisContinue reading “Cambridge *is not* ‘the perfect small city’”

Fortunately I wasn’t the only person who provided feedback to the Cambridge Civic Quarter proposals. Because if my ideas were adopted without anyone making any improvements, the laws of unintended consequences would have a field day! TL/DR? See https://cambridgecivicquarter.co.uk/ Above – Waterford Whispers on crazy old dude who reads planning applications The consultation analysis –Continue reading “NEWZ: ‘Local historian studies guildhall proposals like he owns the place’”

Image – from the old Cambridge College of Further Education, which merged with CCAT and then hived off to form what is now Cambridge Regional College. One of my most persistent criticisms of successive governments has been over the very narrow criteria put in place for funding adult education services. Since Margaret Thatcher’s Government, theContinue reading “Adult skills provision to get a revamp – but will the remit remain a narrow work-based one?”

Huntingdonshire District (formerly a county in its own right until the 1960s) and Suffolk County Council have published a number of documents inviting residents to comment on the future of housing and transport for their areas. You can see the following: Huntingdonshire Local Plan Update to 2036 (note my earlier blogpost here on the subject)Continue reading “Suffolk and Huntingdonshire launch transport and housing consultations”

…mindful that they were imagining a Cambridge in 2065… Former councillor Sam Davies MBE (now of pastures new) reminded me of the Cambridge 2065 document here. And one particular quotation via this exchange which I’ve highlighted below. Above – Cambridge 2065 (2014) p40 What makes that quotation from Prof Jeremy Sanders interesting is that whenContinue reading “How do the visions of Cambridge’s future written in 2014 read in 2024?”

According to the timetable it was due to be published by 30th September – but I guess the general election got in the way. “Two blogposts in a row?” Yes – and as for the image, I’m convinced that a light rail such as Cambridge Connect propose, is key to having a workable destination managementContinue reading “Cambridge’s tourism / destination management plan overdue”

I’m familiar with several of the people who are going to this event so have signed up for it with my local residents’ forum hat on. (Which means I have to behave!) You can sign up here – and I think it’s important that a critical mass of people who have both ‘lived through’ whatContinue reading “Property industry comes to Cambridge to talk social responsibility”

The Combined Authority has published a monster meeting pack with ***lots of pictures*** (because it’s nearly 50MB in size). In the meantime, a reminder that Cambridge’s council house waiting list is over 2,800 You can read the CPCA papers here, and see the council housing table from the city council at item 6a (p11 ofContinue reading “Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2050 – with quirky characters too”