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Cambridge City Councillors Jostle to Get Snouts in Trough
Cambridge City Council’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor Process into the Council Chamber Before the Councillor Allowances Debate On the 7th of April I observed a Cambridge City Council meeting. Despite many important items being on the agenda, including the future of the NHS and setting the city wide police priorities the item to which most […]
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Saving the Sense of Wide Open Space on Midsummer Common
This Wedge of Grass Contributes to the Sense of Wide Open Space on Midsummer Common. While Cambridge City Council were considering their recent tree works on Midsummer Common one of the suggestions I made was that the sense of large open space in the centre of the city ought be kept. I argued against encroaching […]
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Uncertainty Over City Council Funding
On the 24th of September 2010 I observed, and filmed, a meeting of the Cambridge City Council Executive. Key Points Some councillors are very uncomfortable with having their meetings filmed. There is massive uncertainty about how much money the City Council will have in the future. Cambridge City Council wants to raise a hyperlocal tax […]
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Holy Trinity Church War Memorial Trees
On the 22nd of September 2010 I observed, and filmed, Cambridge City Council’s planning committee as they discussed the proposed felling of a healthy western red cedar tree and two holly trees in Holy Trinity Churchyard in the City Centre. This was the first City Council deliberation ever to have been filmed, the council only […]
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New Dispersal Zone for Sidney Street and the Market Square Discussed
The door into the West/Central area committee. Council rules prevented me from taking a more interesting photo showing councillors and the police inside the meeting. On the 4th of February I observed the West Central area committee where councillors were considering, at an early stage, the possibility of a new dispersal zone in the city […]
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Councillors Refuse Permission for More Floodlights at Tennis Club
This evening I watched councillors refuse a planning application from Cambridge Tennis Club on Wilberforce Road. The club had applied for permission to put up floodlights on three currently unlit courts. The Vote Cambridge City Council don’t record which why councillors vote, even on matters of substantial public interest such as this application. I have […]
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Open Forum and Police Items at West Central Area Committee Dominated by Traffic and Cycling Matters
Cycle Theft Remains at High Levels in Cambridge City Centre. During the open forum and policing agenda item at Cambridge City Council’s West/Central Area Committee on the 20th of August 2009 much of the discussion focused on traffic and cycling in the city centre. At the last meeting councillors had prioritised gaining the ability to […]
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Determining Planning Applications At Area Committees – A Good Idea?
The installation of a Mikvah at 37A Castle Street was one of three planning applications considered by the West/Central Area Committee on the 20th of August 2009. In Cambridge smaller planning applications which affect only one area of the city are decided at area committees. I observed the consideration of the following applications by the […]
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Councillors Approve Parker’s Piece Ice-Rink for 2009
In 2008 the ice rink and stalls were very close to the paths bringing those trying to pass through into conflict with shoppers. (Photo – CycleStreets [license] During Cambridge City Council’s planning committee on the 19th of August 2009 councillors approved plans for an ice-rink, market, and fair-ground ride to be placed on Parker’s Piece […]
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Mill Road Tesco – Application for Alcohol Licence Refused
Cambridge City Councillors rejected Tesco’s application to sell alcohol in their new Mill Road store. City Council rules forbid photography at meetings without permission so this photograph was not taken during the meeting. On the the 17th of August 2009 I observed a Cambridge City Council licensing committee comprising Cllr Benstead, Cllr McGovern and Cllr […]