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Cambridge City Council Environment Scrutiny March 2011 – Romsey Conservation Area
Outline of the New Romsey Conservation Area On the morning of the 15th of March 2011 I attended Cambridge City Council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee. I went along mainly as the agenda included discussing a new Conservation Area for Romsey, Brookfields and Burnside. I used the public speaking opportunity at the meeting to raise my concern […]
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Mass Ejection from Public Gallery at Cambridge City Council Meeting
On Thursday the 17th of February I went to the Guildhall in Cambridge to observe a full meeting of Cambridge City Council. On arrival I found the main doors to the building closed and locked. This isn’t usually the case when there is a full council meeting. There was no indication anything was going on […]
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Cambridge City Council Debates Cuts
I observed a special meeting of Cambridge City Council’s full council on Monday the 8th of November 2010. The meeting’s purpose was to consider the latest draft of the council’s Medium Term Strategy (3MB PDF) in light of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review the outcome of which was announced on the 20th of October. The […]
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Liberal Democrats to Privatise Cambridge Council House Maintenance
At a meeting of Cambridge City Council on the 21st of October 2010 the Liberal Democrat ruling group’s plan to privatise council house maintenance was debated. I filmed the debate and have made it available on YouTube as well as embedded within this article; the debate is presented as a “Playlist” with one video per […]
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Transparency Changes Outcome of Police Priority Vote
Coleridge Road, Cambridge. A fantastic example of why transparency is good for democratic decision making occurred at the Cambridge City Council’s East Area Committee on the 19th of August 2010. Green Party Councillor Margaret Wright had proposed a motion removing an existing police priority aimed at reducing speeding on a range of target roads across […]
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Councillors Assign High Priority to Spending £2.5K on Burnside Toad Crossings
Burnside, Cambridge. Councillors at Cambridge City Council’s East Area Committee on the 19th of August 2010 told officers to go ahead with, and give a high priority to, installing two thousand five hundred pounds worth of toad crossings at Burnside. These crossings are to take the form of dropped curbs. Councillors appeared to make the […]
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Untouchable York Street Drug Dealers Bantering With Police
Contents of a needle exchange kit. Image: Todd Huffman (licence) Cambridge City Council’s East Area Committee on the 19th of August 2010 was told of problems of drug use and drug dealing in the area around the York Street playground. Police Sergent Kay Stevens painted a picture of dealers running rings around the police and […]
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Cambridge Lib Dems Undecided on Building New Council Houses
Cambridge’s Locally Based Housing Offices Are to be Cut by the Lib Dems At Cambridge City Council’s annual meeting on the 27th of May 2010 Lewis Herbert the leader of the Labour opposition group on Cambridge City Council put the following oral question to the Executive Councillor for Housing Cllr Smart: What recommendations will she […]
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Questions to the Cambridge City Council Executive – May 2010
At full meetings of Cambridge City Council there is a section where councillors are able to ask oral questions of the Executive councillors. Questions are submitted in advance and are randomly ordered by officers prior to the meeting. As many questions as it is possible to get through in the half hour allocated are taken. […]
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Providing Open Space in the City as Cambridge Grows
Cambridge Liberal Democrats prefer spending money enhancing existing spaces like Jesus Green, rather than requiring developers to provide new green space as the city grows. At Cambridge City Council’s full council meeting on the 22nd of April 2010 the Labour opposition challenged the ruling Liberal Democrats over a message they’ve been putting out during the […]