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Full Cambridgeshire County Council Meeting February 2011
On Tuesday the 15th of February 2011 I observed the full meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council at which the council’s budget was debated. The ruling Conservative group proposed a budget involving cuts to the council’s spending totalling £160m over the next five years. The reasoning for this was they wanted to produce a balanced budget […]
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Cambridge Community Safety Partnership December 2010
On the 14th of December 2010 I observed a meeting of the Cambridge Community Safety Partnership. Interesting Points The police have caught and bailed five “medium scale handlers” who have each been selling 20-30 stolen bikes per week online. The police think people like this are responsible for most bike theft in Cambridge. I think […]
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Cambridgeshire County Council Full Council December 2010
I observed Cambridgeshire County Council’s Full Council on the 7th of December 2010. The meeting was, as I had predicted from the sparse agenda, rather devoid of substantive content. The 450 jobs to go and £161 million cuts at the council which were reported in the media two days after the meeting were not mentioned […]
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Julian Huppert and Evan Harris on Science in Parliament
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert On Friday the 19th of November I attended a public lecture organised by the Centre for Science and Policy titled: “The future of science in Parliament” The speakers were Cambridge MP Julian Huppert and ex. MP Evan Harris. Cambridge’s previous MP David Howarth is now an Associate Fellow at the Centre […]
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Speaking About My Filming Ban at the Cambridge City Council Civic Affairs Committee
On the 15th of November 2010 I attended Cambridge City Council’s Civic Affairs Committee. I used the public speaking slot to let councillors know about my experiences recording council meetings and to ask questions about the fact I have now been banned from filming council meetings. A member of the public, Andrew Bower, recorded the […]
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Councillors Reject Plans to Demolish The Queen Edith Pub
I observed Cambridge City Council’s South Area Committee on the 11th of November 2010 where councillors refused to give planning permission for the demolition of The Queen Edith pub and for new homes to be built on the site. Councillors on the committee were told by the planning officer that Cambridge City Council’s own planning […]
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Cambridge City Council Bans Filming Meetings
Cambridge City Council has banned all videoing, photography, and recording of its meetings just a few weeks after it allowed the practice for the first time. The first deliberations of the council ever to have been recorded on film were at a planning committee meeting on the 22nd of September 2010, by the 21st of […]
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Public Meeting on Alexandra Gardens Trees
Unofficial notices warn of the council’s proposed chainsaw massacre on Alexandra Gardens. No further official notices or consultation are planned despite not all information yet being available, and a final decision not being made till December or January. On Friday the 15th of October 2010 a public meeting was held by Cambridge City Council to […]
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Suggesting Tweaks to Midsummer Common Tree Plans
Current plans include planting three black poplars in the middle of the grass a hundred metres or so into the common from the point this photo was taken. I think this wedge of open grass should be left as it multiplies the sense of space. I spoke at the special meeting of the West Central […]