-
Castle and Victoria Road Conservation Area
Map of Proposed Conservation Area On the 30th of April 2012 I responded to Cambridge City Council’s consultation on a new conservation area for the Victoria Road area and parts of Castle ward. My response: Dear Cambridge City Council, I am writing to respond to the council’s consultation on the Castle and Victoria Road Conservation […]
-
Reverse Canvassing in Arbury
Having reached a few days before polling day and not had any contact from three of the four candidates standing in my ward of Arbury, Cambridge, I decided to try some “reverse canvassing” and knocked on the elusive candidates’ front doors. While sitting Labour Councillor Mike Todd-Jones and his team have produced a number of […]
-
Policing West-Central Cambridge April 2012
Poorly located 20 mph signs on entering Maid’s Causeway. On Thursday the 26th of April 2012 I observed Cambridge City Council’s West/Central area committee hold the police to account on their recent performance and set the new policing priorities for the area. One of the key items under discussion was the operation of the 20 […]
-
Seeking to Observe The Election Count in Cambridge
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted drawing attention to the fact that election counts in Cambridge are not open to the public and asked what arrangements were in place for those wishing to observe and report on proceedings. This resulted in a number of local politicians, including elected councillors, asking why the count was […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
Asking to Film and Ask Public Questions at Cambridge City Council
I have submitted the following message to the council’s democratic services email address, copying Councillor Tim Bick: 1. If a suitably less restrictive filming policy is adopted during the Thursday 19th April 2012 full council meeting I would like to film/photograph the council meeting from the point the new policy is adopted. I’d like to […]
-
Police Set Bassingbourne and Melbourn Police Priorities
Sgt Capes of Cambridgeshire Police presenting a report on youth antisocial behaviour in Melbourn. On the evening of the 17th of April 2012 I attended the Bassingbourne and Melbourn Neighbourhood panel meeting, at which the local police priorities for the upcoming couple of months were set. The panel meeting was not run democratically, the priorities […]
-
Labour Plans to Push House Sharers Out of Cambridge
Spot the shared houses. Many streets in North Cambridge contain lots of shared houses which are indistinguishable from their neighbours. As has been reported in the Cambridge News Labour Councillors Marchant-Daisley and Todd-Jones are putting forward a motion to Cambridge City Council’s full council on Thursday the 19th of April 2012 calling for a cap […]
-
Police Endorse Cambridge Labour’s Wet Room for Drunks Policy
On the evening of the 12th of April 2012 I observed councillors on Cambridge’s East Area Committee set the areas’s policing priorities for the upcoming four months. Problems caused by street drinkers were by far the top issue raised by councillors. Sergeant Jamie Stenton for Cambridgeshire Police initially reported: “Street life people [his words] are […]