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Cambridge City Council to Fell 73 Trees at Byron’s Pool
Cambridge City Council manage Byron’s Pool local nature reserve which is on the River Cam upstream of Grantchester, near the A14. A tiny “article” in the Winter edition of Cambridge Matters magazine with the headline of “Native tree-planting” states: 73 non-native trees are being removed from Byron’s Pool Local Nature Reserve. Removing the Sycamores and […]
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Punting Enforcement Officer
The Budget Setting Report to Cambridge City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on Monday the 19th of January 2009 reveals that despite the council looking for savings in many areas of its operations it is planning to fund an enforcement officer to “support the regulation of punting”. The explanation of the request for this […]
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The Future Management of Cambridge’s Swimming Pools
Cambridge City Council’s Community Services Scrutiny Committee on Thursday the 15th of January 2009 will be discussing an item entitled: “Leisure Management Contract September 2010 Onwards”. Not only does this item have an obscure title, but it is scheduled to be discussed in secret, with the press and public excluded. I believe what is to […]
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Cowley Road Car Boot Sale Closed
At Cambridge City Council’s meeting on the 4th of December 2008 Labour Councillor for Arbury Mike Todd-Jones asked Councillor Rod Cantrill the Executive Councillor for Customer Services and Resources an oral question: Following the move of the Park and Ride from Cowley Road to Milton, can he assure the hundreds of regular users of the […]
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Is Cambridge City Council Acquiring Technology for Pay as You Throw Taxation?
While reading though the list of new vehicles which Cambridge City Council is planning to buy in 2009/10 I came across two “”On-board weighing systems” at £6,000 each” along with the waste and recycling equipment. The Council publish on their website that the amount of waste collected by their refuse collection vehicles is weighed using […]
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Council Proposing Cuts to Pinder Service
Among the “Revised Budget Items” being presented to Cambridge City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on Monday 19 January 2009 is an entry showing the council plans to save money by removing the out of hours service it provides for responding to animals which have escaped from the city’s commons. I was very surprised […]
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Which Christmas Councillor Blair?
On Saturday December the 6th 2008 in the weekend edition of the Cambridge News carried an article headlined: “Now it’s poison berries stopping the start of play” about the fact the large Playground on the Accordia development off Brooklands Avenue in Cambridge has been closed since December 2007. The playground is closed as yew hedges […]
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The Santa Hat of State
During the State Opening of Parliament a military officer is given the role of parading in front of the monarch with what looks like a santa hat on a stick. It is a symbol of the monarchy which is kept with the crown jewels in the Tower of London. It is properly known as the […]
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Opening up the Family Courts
In September 2008 I responded to a consultation entitled Confidence and confidentiality: openness in family courts – a new approach run by the Ministry of Justice. I agreed with the following main points: The current court rules on disclosure need to be amended to allow for wider disclosure of information in cases involving children and […]