RailPen propose a bland block on Newmarket Road

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with what has been put forward given my blogpost back on 09 November 2022 – which is nearly two years ago. “Does the revamped building look any better?” You be the judge. Above – from the Design & Access Statement in the application now out for public consultation WheneverContinue reading “RailPen propose a bland block on Newmarket Road”

Cambridge needs to designate the site for second urban centre

The failure of central government to enable local councils not only to designate sites for essential city functions, but also to provide them with the means and resources to turn plans into reality is excruciatingly visible in Cambridge’s limited nightlife I still find it astonishing that Cambridge has fewer night clubs today than in theContinue reading “Cambridge needs to designate the site for second urban centre”

Generations of pro-growth politicians, dons & business people failed to take the people of Cambridge with them on expanding our city

And now they are caught between a rock and a hard place as the Greater Cambridge Partnership enters its final third of its existence. I can’t say today at The Guildhall was fun – especially listening to a very partial history of ‘how we got to here’ and also the collective failure of the GCPContinue reading “Generations of pro-growth politicians, dons & business people failed to take the people of Cambridge with them on expanding our city”

Huntingdonshire’s emerging new* local plan – the options look familiar to Cambridge in the late 1990s

Huntingdonshire District Council has some very big decisions coming up – and I’m surprised there hasn’t been more publicity on its options across Cambridgeshire. *(It’s actually an update to their existing local plan rather than a brand new one – my apologies!) You can browse through the large files in the meeting papers here byContinue reading “Huntingdonshire’s emerging new* local plan – the options look familiar to Cambridge in the late 1990s”

The Green Party votes to support High Speed 2 Rail at their annual conference

In a vote that was won by a very narrow margin (345-318), members of the Green Party voted to change its policy from one of opposition, to ‘support in principle’ for HS2. At the other end of the rail spectrum, the party has strikingly little content on light rail and trams You can read theContinue reading “The Green Party votes to support High Speed 2 Rail at their annual conference”

Stagnating developments of student accommodation in Cambridge

The inability of local government to compel developers to build out planning permissions, and enabling landowners to ‘squat’ on sites as they try to squeeze out more financial gains from sites is something that new ministers need to clamp down on. These should be issues that The Cambridge Room should also host future debates onContinue reading “Stagnating developments of student accommodation in Cambridge”

East Cambridge Sci-Tech Park goes to Planning Committee

The controversial proposals (which I wrote about here when the application went out to public consultation) are now up for Cambridge City Council’s Planning Committee to consider. You can see the summary files here – the meeting is on 19th Sept 2024 at The Guildhall. The application states: “Outline application for Parcel A for Offices,Continue reading “East Cambridge Sci-Tech Park goes to Planning Committee”

Could Cambridge repeat their ‘Pop in the Park’ headliners from 1997?

With the furore of the Oasis dynamic ticket pricing headlines, a couple of charities announced raffle prizes of concert tickets. Which made me wonder about better alternatives for those who’d never be able to get to, let alone afford the tickets for the real thing. Then something sparked in my memory about the events CambridgeContinue reading “Could Cambridge repeat their ‘Pop in the Park’ headliners from 1997?”