Richard Taylor

Category: Article

  • Mob Sets Sawston Police Priorities

    Sawston Police Priority Setting Meeting – 4th of July 2011 On the evening of the 4th of July 2011 I observed a police priority setting meeting in Sawston. The area covered by the “panel meeting” appears to align with the South Cambridgeshire District Council wards of Sawston, The Shelfords and Stapleford, Whittlesford and Duxford. This […]

  • Love Cambridge Annual Review 2010-11

    Cambridge City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on the 4th of July 2011 received an annual report from Cambridge’s City Centre management organisation Love Cambridge. I used the public speaking slot at the meeting to say: I would like to ask how the council is monitoring the performance of the residents’ representative on the […]

  • Cambridgeshire Police Force Area

    I thought a Google Map of the Cambridgeshire Police Force Area would come in useful. Use the on-map controls to zoom etc. The police are moving to use the districts shown, which line up with local council boundaries, as their command units. I have commented on the Cambridgeshire Police restructuring in another article. This map […]

  • Painting the Riverside Railings

    Cambridge City Council to Spend £25K Painting 100m of These Railings Councillors at Cambridge City Council’s East Area Committee are struggling to spend their Environmental Improvements budget. At at meeting of the committee on the 23rd of June councillors said they didn’t have enough ideas for how to spend their spare budget. One item councillors […]

  • Tidying up Round Church Street Wall Unachievable Say Councillors

    Cambridge City Councillors have given up trying to sort out this wall. The committee of councillors who’ve spent years trying, and failing, to get a single streetlight put up have now found themselves outwitted by a wall. The Cambridge West Central Area Committee on the 21st of June 2011 declared it “impossible” to get the […]

  • Cambridgeshire Police Authority – June 2011

    Cambridgeshire Police Authority meet in public, but interesting items are taken in secret session On the 29th of June 2011 I observed a meeting of Cambridgeshire Police Authority. Key Points: A decision was taken to axe the force helicopter, saving £500,000 a year by moving to use the Chiltern Air Support Unit as well as […]

  • Julian Huppert Calls for Legalisation of Drugs

    During Prime Minister’s questions on the 29th of June 2011 Cambridge’s Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert asked: Does the Prime Minister believe that drugs policy has been failing for decades, as he said in 2005, and does he agree that the Government should initiate a discussion of alternative ways including the possibility of legalisation regulation […]

  • Cambridgeshire Police vs Jazz

    The Cambridge building where a licence for a jazz club is being opposed by Cambridgeshire Police On Monday the 27th of June 2011 I went to Cambridge Guildhall to observe a licensing hearing consider an application for The Jam House, 21 Hobson Street, Cambridge. The Jam House is a chain of jazz venues. The Jam […]

  • Councillors Reminded They Opted for Low Key Signage of 20 MPH Limits

    Cambridge councillors opted against clear signs like these (from Saffron Walden) for the city centre 20 MPH limits. (Image Source [My Photo!]) I observed Cambridge City Council’s West/Central Area Committee on Tuesday the 21st of June 2011. Councillors were presented with the results of speed surveys showing at best that introducing new 20 MPH limits […]

  • Councillors Make Odd Choice of Path to Fix on Jesus Green

    Councillors deemed this path the worst on Jesus Green and earmarked £30K for work on it. I observed Cambridge City Council’s West/Central Area Committee on Tuesday the 21st of June 2011. Councillors decided to provisionally allocate around £30,000 to what their officers described as the worst path on Jesus Green – the one from (not […]