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Secrecy and Confusion as Cllr Cantrill Takes Responsibility for Midsummer Common and Jesus Green Tree Planting
Cambridge City Council has felled many trees from Midsummer Common; significant funds have been allocated for replacements. During the “open forum” of the 24th of June 2010 West Central Area committee where members of the public are able to question councillors I asked: Is there a date yet for the proposed meeting to discuss new […]
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Cambridge City Councillor Colin Rosenstiel Accused of Obstructing Ambulance on Jesus Green
A complaint against Cambridge City Councillor Colin Rosenstiel, in which it is alleged he obstructed an ambulance responding to a 999 call on Jesus Green, is to be heard by a panel of the council’s Standards Committee on the 11th of February 2009. The panel is made up of councillors Bick, McGovern, and McPherson along […]
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Police and Crime Commissioner Bright on Spying on Student Unions
At the session of the Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday the 26th of November 2013 Cambridge MP Julian Huppert asked Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Graham Bright about the police spying on students unions. This follows a Guardian article: Police tried to spy on Cambridge students, secret footage shows based on footage taken by […]
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Cambridge City Council Covert CCTV Deployed In Someone’s Home
A report on Cambridge City Council’s use of covert surveillance is to be taken to the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee on Monday the 15th of October at 17.00 in the Guildhall. The key message from the report is simply: [The council] has not authorised the use of RIPA powers in the period covered by […]
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Cambridge City Council to Re-Tender £2m/yr Computer and Phone Contract
Cambridge City Council ICT Facilities Management Contract Re-Tender I observed Cambridge City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on the 9th of July 2012. Councillors considered a report titled ICT Facilities Management Contract Re-Tender. There is little detail in the report, but it appears the council are planning to spend around twice as much as […]
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Cambridge City Council Seek To Control Use of Footage of Councillors
Liberal Democrat run Cambridge City Council is very keen on tightly controlling the image of its councillors. Earlier I received the following email: Dear Mr Taylor I see that you have posted footage on You Tube from the last council meeting of Cllr Owers, which you have set to music. Our protocol explicitly asks those […]
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Labour Anti House Sharing Motion Defeated
On the evening of the 19th of April 2012 I observed Cambridge City Council debate a Labour motion on the subject of regulating shared houses in the city. The motion talked of capping the number of properties available to sharers and extending the council’s definition of a House in Multiple Occupation to include all properties […]
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Friends of Midsummer Common 2012 AGM
Given its heavy use by cyclists and pedestrians this path across the common is a little narrow. On March the 14th 2012 I attended the Friends of Midsummer Common’s Annual General Meeting. I am not a member of the group, but the meeting was open to the public. It was advertised in the Cambridge News […]
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No Free Market in Cambridge
Cambridge Market At Cambridge City Council’s West / Central Area Committee on the 5th of January 2012 a member of the public, Edward Kerns, who claimed to be representing Christ’s Pieces Residents Association made a number of contributions related to Cambridge’s Market. Firstly he passed on complaints from market stall-holders about the Made It Market […]
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Councillors Ask Police to Record Frame Numbers of Recovered Bikes
My bike locked up in Cambridge. At Cambridge City Council’s West/Central Area committee on Thursday the 5th of January 2012 Cambridgeshire Police reported that they had a number of unclaimed bikes at Parkside police station which they had recovered from cycle thieves. During the policing agenda item at the West/Central area committee members of the […]