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Prompting a City Council Statement on Strawberry Fair
A girl with a chicken’s head at the 2009 Strawberry Fair. At Cambridge City Council’s Community Services Scrutiny Committee on the 25th of March 2010 I asked a public question about the recently cancelled Strawberry Fair. I explained that I was using the public question to try and prompt a statement from the council and […]
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Friends of Midsummer Common 2010 AGM
Midsummer Common – Cambridge On the 17th of March 2010 I and about thirty others attended an annual general meeting of the Friends of Midsummer Common. This was a meeting, open to all, which had been advertised on the common. Interesting Points Council officer Alistair Wilson reported that the Horse Chestnuts on Victoria avenue have […]
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City Council Propose Buying 11 and 12 Year Olds Local Secrets Discount Cards
At Cambridge’s South Area Committee meeting on the 11th of March a proposal to spend a substantial amount of public money buying Local Secrets discount cards for all children in years 7 and 8 (11 and 12 year olds) was presented. Cllr Clare Blair, who made the proposal, explained that these cards would then give […]
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Tall Buildings in Cambridge
Around 150 people attended a public event for Cambridge city residents to discuss the potential for tall buildings in the city. . On the 3rd of March I attended a series of talks, and a workshop, discussing tall buildings in Cambridge. Kati Preston, the wife of Cambridge City Council’s Historical Environment Manager, John Preston, explained […]
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Castle County Councillor Belinda Brooks-Gordon Standing For Parliament in Haverhill
A few days ago I noticed that Belinda Brooks-Gordon, the Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Castle Ward in Cambridge, had blocked me from following her on Twitter. This piqued my interest so I made sure I monitored her public twitter feed carefully. On Friday she posted a tweet saying she was in Haverhill and I […]
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City Councillors Protest Publication of Police Strawberry Fair Video
Did Councillors Gag the Local Paper? Update to article 17.00 5 March 2010 The Cambridge News published a video of the 2009 Strawberry Fair which had been presented by the police to a council licensing committee meeting on the 1st of March. Councillors objected to the publication of the video saying that it should not […]
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Legal Action by Cambridge MP David Howarth Prompts Apology from Councillor
Heavily Redacted Invoice for David Howarth’s Press Officer Ex. Liberal Democrat councillor John Hipkin, who is now an independent city councillor for Castle Ward, today wrote to recipients of his regular newsletter to issue an apology for an article in which he drew attention to some of Cambridge MP David Howarth’s expenses claims. Cllr Hipkin […]
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Cambridge And Higher Education Cuts
At three minutes to midnight on Thursday, Cambridge City Council got round to discussing the impact of proposed cuts to university funding on Cambridge. By the time the item, towards the end of their full council agenda, was reached many Liberal Democrat councillors had gone home and even the mayor, who was chairing the meeting […]
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Love Cambridge Considering Raising Taxes, Tackling Pigeons and Dealing With Unfriendly Customer Service
On the 23rd of February 2010 I attended the second members’ meeting of Cambridge’s City Centre management organisation: Love Cambridge. I am not a member but was invited to attend by Nicky Morrison, who serves as a director representing residents’ interests on the organisation’s board. Key Points Emma Thornton, Head of Love Cambridge, and the […]
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Mrs Kesler Asks Cambridge City Council For Permission to Prune Her Apple Tree
Owlstone Road, Newnham. Liberal Democrats ruling Cambridge City Council appear hell-bent on making the city an impractical and expensive place to live and do business in. Expanding the areas of the city which are covered by conservation areas is one of the ways in which decisions made by the local council have a damaging effect […]