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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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Trying to Improve The Cambridge City Council Licensing Policy Consultation
Photo of room prior to Cambridge City Council Licensing Committee meeting. Photography and audio recording is banned during meetings. Cambridge City Council is about to launch a consultation on its licensing policy. The police, licensees, premises supervisors, the Campaign for Real Ale, the general public and others will be asked for their views. This morning […]
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Electronic Advertising Screens and CCTV in Cambridge Taxis
Cambridge Taxi Cambridge City Council’s standard conditions on “Advertising and Livery on Licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles” were amended at a licensing committee meeting on the 25th of January 2010. The item had been placed on the councillors’ agenda following a letter from Alex Sharifi who is promoting a system called Cabcast; a […]
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Introducing Co-Mingled Recycling to Cambridge
On the 13th of January 2009 I attended the Cambridge City Council meeting where a decision was made to go ahead with plans to replace the recycling boxes currently used in homes in the city with a third wheelie bin. This new bin, which will be dark blue, will be able to take mixed recyclables […]
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New Cambridge Magistrates’ Court
I visited the new Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday the 23rd of October. I had visited at 14.00 on the afternoon of the opening day – on Monday the 20th, to be told that there were no courts sitting that afternoon, and there would not be any adult courts until Thursday. This left me concerned […]
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Snowy Farr Statue Unveiled
On the 7th of August 2012 I watched the unveiling of a statue of charity fundraiser Snowy Farr outside the Guildhall in Cambridge. It has been reported the statue cost £50,000. In my view spending this sum of public money to commemorate a fund-raiser doesn’t make sense, it amounts to somewhere around half of what […]
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Cambridge City Council to Review Restrictive Filming and Photography Policy
Cambridge City Council’s Civic Affairs Committee on the 21st of March 2012 is to review the city council’s currently highly restrictive policy on filming, recording and photographing council meetings. The report to the meeting contains the following statement: Since the Committee approved the amendments to the audio/visual recording protocol in February 2011, there have been […]
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Cambridge City Council – Full Council July 2011
Cambridge Guildhall (Library Image: These Doors Were Open for Thursday’s Meeting) I observed, and took part in, a meeting of Cambridge City Council’s full council on Thursday the 21st of July 2011. Preliminaries The front doors of the Guildhall were open when I arrived and it was possible to walk straight in. This is a […]
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Cambridge City Council Budget Debate 2011
Cambridge City Councillors in the Council Chamber During a Suspension in the 17th February 2011 Full Council Meeting. I observed Cambridge City Council’s full council meeting on Thursday the 17th of February. I have written a previous article about disruption at the meeting. The main item on the agenda was the approval of the council’s […]
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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 […]