Tag: Cambridge City Council

Equal access to democracy

07:18 Friday 6th May 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: And just to go quickly to Anthony Carpen once more, who’s a political blogger and community activist in the Cambridge area. I haven’t been canvassed once in the run-up to this local election, which is a source of some disappointment, because I like to play a game where they knock on my door, and then I open it and try and guess the name of the councillor before they tell me their name. I know. The long evenings really do fly by in my household. Do you feel that canvassing has been at fever pitch?
ANTONY CARPEN: Certainly in some of the wards it has been. For example, Market and Romsey had the doors canvassed the hell out of.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Knocked on heavily.
ANTONY CARPEN: Whereas in other wards, Cherry Hinton for example, there were complaints from various people that they hadn’t received any election literature whatsoever. Now I think there are a couple of things to say about this. One is that there’s obviously a negative impact of political parties just targeting a small number of wards. But also for me democracy is not a spectator sport, and one of the things for me that goes with being a citizen is that isn’t there a responsibility for us as citizens to be proactive and find out who is standing in which areas. It’s one of the reasons why I created over fifty short YouTube videos featuring a number of candidates from all of the political parties standing either in the elections for local councils or for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And Daniel, Anthony mentioning there Cherry Hinton ward, where I believe Rob Dryden who’s the Mayor of Cambridge, very very well known local figure, was standing and re-elected for Labour. Do you think there are some wards within the city where your party Labour has become complacent?
DANIEL ZEICHNER: I don’t think complacent, but I think all organisations work the system they’ve got. So you concentrate your resources. I think actually Labour does make a consistent attempt to make sure that everyone gets election literature. I’ve (something) Liberal Democrats have almost withdrawn completely from whole areas of the city, and just contest very hard these very marginal areas. So it does mean that everyone else gets left out, which is why I and others think a change to our electoral system would actually be good for our local democracy.

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Cambridge City Council election 2016 – the city’s housing crisis

08:11 Tuesday 3rd May 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Cambridge City Council is under Labour control at the moment. How much do you think local politicians can do about this housing crisis?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: Well I think Cambridge City Council has already done quite a lot, but there’s obviously the national restrictions that we’re facing. So in terms of council housing, not being able to build enough. But what Labour have managed to do in thr two years that they’ve been in is to build a lot more council housing. They’ve bought back some land that had previously been sold and built council housing on it.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: So when you say a lot more council housing, how many properties are we talking about?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: I think it’s around 100, but I’m not sure of the exact figure.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: That’s nothing though is it, in the context of the number of people who want affordable homes.
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: No and I think it’s really unfortunate with the national policies that we’re unable to borrow against the housing stock that we’ve currently got. So it means that you can’t get the finances up to build more housing.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: And you blame who for that?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: The national government really.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC : OK. Let’s go to Roy then standing for the Conservatives. Sophie says it’s your party’s fault.
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Eastern devolution – the wooing begins

10:24 Wednesday 27th April 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Is your neighbourhood getting a rough deal from the rest of Cambridgeshire? That’s our question, after the Leader of East Cambs. District Council launched a scathing attack on fellow-council leaders across Cambridgeshire. James Palmer said they were too Cambridge focused. Areas like East Cambs have been forgotten about. One of his quotes: “I’m afraid some councillors who represent the city of Cambridge have no idea what exists within two or three miles of them. They think East Cambridgeshire is off the edge of some cliff, Fenland is at the bottom of it.” He’s happy to go it alone without Cambridgeshire, and forge a union down the Yellow Brick Road of Norfolk and Suffolk. Well let’s speak to the head honcho, Lewis Herbert, Labour Leader of Cambridge City Council. Morning Lewis.
LEWIS HERBERT: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: Have you forgotten about some parts of Cambridgeshire, forsaking all others unto Cambridge?
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South Cambridgeshire Local Plan changes approved

“I am very concerned about the flooding on that site, for surface water and for the ecology aspects of that site.”

08:26 Thursday 24th March 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Mayor developments including a new town at Waterbeach and a new village at Bourn Airfield could now be started quicker. It’s after alterations to a major plan that aims to create thousands of homes and jobs in and around Cambridge were approved. South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City councils are jointly working on the Local Plan, which will guide developments up to 2031. Extra work had to be completed on the document after Government inspectors questioned whether the original draft contained plans for enough new homes. Joining me now is the South Cambridgeshire District Council Cabinet Member for Planning Robert Turner. Morning Robert.
ROBERT TURNER: Good morning Dotty. How are you?
DOTTY MCLEOD: I’m very good thank you. So what are the biggest changes that were made to this plan which have now been approved?
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John Holdich on devolution for Peterborough

07:23 Thursday 17th March 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: John Holdich is the Leader of Peterborough City Council. Morning John.
JOHN HOLDICH: Good morning Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Now George Osborne, he clearly thinks that having some kind of Eastern Powerhouse, some kind of East Anglian regional assembly or something, would benefit him and the economy. Do you think it would benefit Peterborough?
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Dissent on devolution for East Anglia

17:21 Thursday 17th March 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

The East Anglia Devolution Agreement

CHRIS MANN: It’s been twenty four hours since the Chancellor George Osborne used the Budget to unveil devolution plans for East Anglia, handing more powers to Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. There would be in his plans a single authority for East Anglia with an elected Mayor. The Communities Secretary Greg Clark has been visiting Huntingdon today. He’s been telling the BBC exactly how devolution would work for the county.
GREG CLARK: So on transport, of course if you’re building new homes, one of the problems in the past is that the homes have gone up, but often the transport has not been in improved, so the roads have got more congested. So what the council leaders have negotiated in this deal is a big fund, nearly a billion pounds,of money to be put in the hands of locals, to make sure that when homes are built for example, or indeed when new commercial premises are built, there can be investment in the roads, in the railways, to make sure that the area continues to flow. But also for housing, we know right across the area when jobs are being created, people do need to live close by them. And they want to get a home of their own. There has been a housing shortage, so there’s money specifically again, over £175 million, to invest over the next few years in more homes here, with local people taking those decisions. So it’s a big big transfer, from rather than decisions made way down in London, have those decisions made locally.
CHRIS MANN: Cambridge City Council is the only authority out of twenty two that doesn’t support the plans. Labour’s Lewis Herbert is the Council’s Leader.
LEWIS HERBERT: The money on the table is about £1 million per council per year, and that really isn’t going to make any difference. Our infrastructure needs hundreds of millions of pounds just for Cambridge. We’ve only had three weeks to actually make our case to Government. Not enough money, nothing for housing. A bit like the Budget, there’ll be nothing for lower income and middle income people needing housing.
CHRIS MANN: But the Communities Secretary Mr Clark hopes the Council will change its mind.
BBC: Let me just ask you just about the practicalities of that deal. Three counties, with Peterborough as well. Is it really practical to take that forward, when you don’t have the likes of Cambridge City and the Local Enterprise Partnership on board? Because without Cambridge, how can that really be of any meaning?
GREG CLARK: Well it’s early days, and certainly I hope that when the City of Cambridge considers the amount of investment that is open to them and to their residents, as well as Cambridgeshire and the other counties, that they will see that actually there’s great benefits for everyone there. And of course when it comes to the City of Cambridge, a fantastic global success, but a lot of the challenges, you know, benefits of success that Cambridge has, the challenges that it gives on housing for example, on transport congestion, on skills, a lot of the solutions are not just within the city limits. They go into their neighbouring areas. So that’s what this deal does. It brings everyone together, so you’ve got better transport, rail and road across the area, places that are able to train people to take up those jobs. And crucially housing for people, young people who want a home of their own, and can put down the roots here, or stay here if they’ve lived here.
CHRIS MANN: Well let’s hear from a senior local Conservative, the Leader of Huntingdonshire District Council, Jason Ablewhite believes that had devolution happened twenty years ago, the A14 would have been upgraded by now.
JASON ABLEWHITE: Everybody locally knew that that local need was there. I think it’s always a battle going to Government to say look, you know, we need a big chunk of cash to do this. The whole point of devolution is that this will be about local decision making. And if I take Huntingdonshire for example, where we’ve got a lot of big brownfield sites, former military sites, which are very challenging in their geography and where they are, to deliver those we need infrastructure investment . If we’ve got that local power, if we’ve got local money that we can put into that, then that’s got to be a positive for the future. And it helps us with our plans. I think in ten years time I’d like to see East Anglia as an absolute powerhouse. We already know that economically it’s one of the largest economies in the UK. And in terms of GVA, between East Anglia, London and the South East, that is a big chunk of the UK PLC GVA every year. And I think a geography that’s wider, the governance is going to be an issue. I can see that because of the size, the sheer scale and size of it. But I would fundamentally love to see an Eastern Powerhouse.
CHRIS MANN: So we’ve heard from the Government proposing it. We have heard from there a council leader who accepts it. We’ve also heard from a council leader who doesn’t, Lewis Herbert for Labour. Let’s bring in, now that we have more details, Nick Clarke, former Conservative Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, who last year defected to UKIP. Hello Nick.
NICK CLARKE: Good evening Chris.
CHRIS MANN: If you were still running the County Council of course you’d be involved in negotiating all this. Would you be in favour?
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Lewis Herbert on housing asylum seekers in Cambridge

08:17 Friday 4th March 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: One of the other big issues this morning, MPs warning Britain faces an impending shortage of housing for asylum seekers, with an allocation system that’s unfair. The Home Affairs Committee claims most are moved into urban areas, while whole swathes of the country don’t receive any. Let’s bring in Keith Vaz MP, who’s Chair of that Committee. Keith morning to you.
KEITH VAZ: Good morning Chris.
CHRIS MANN: So what’s your view? How do you distribute so many people?
KEITH VAZ: Well better than we’re doing at present, because as we know, there are certain parts of the country where there are many asylum seekers in dispersed accommodation, and some parts of the country, sadly Chris Cambridge being one of them, where there are no asylum seekers in accommodation in the whole of Cambridge. If you take Bolton for example, they have 1,023. And a city like my own in Leicester, which has over 875. Now this is not something that’s just happened under this Government. This has been the case for the last ten years.
CHRIS MANN: OK Keith.
KEITH VAZ: But the situation has become more acute.
CHRIS MANN: OK. Peterborough, also in Cambridgeshire as you know, Stewart Jackson the MP says we’re not taking any more because we’re full. We’ve done our share. Do you agree with him?
KEITH VAZ: Well I don’t know what his share is, but we’re not .. you know .. since I’m talking to Radio Cambridge I mention Cambridge. At the end of the day, this is something that needs to be negotiated between the local authorities and the Government. Peterborough actually have taken 146 in dispersed accommodation.
CHRIS MANN: Recently. Yes.
KEITH VAZ: Yes. Which In think is a reasonable number.
CHRIS MANN: OK.
KEITH VAZ: And they support 153 in terms of Section 95 help.
CHRIS MANN: OK.
KEITH VAZ: So Stewart is making the point that he’s taken 146, but next door .. you know .. other local authorities have taken none. So he’s right to that extent. I’m not prescribing a number here. I’m just saying that it should be much more fairer than it is.
CHRIS MANN: What is your number for Cambridge? How many should the city take?
KEITH VAZ: Well I don’t think that I should negotiate necessarily with you Chris, though we’re both people I’m sure capable of doing this. This is something that should be done between the Government and Cambridgeshire City Council .. Cambridge City Council. They should be having this discussion, because we have international obligations which the Prime Minister has committed us to, the 20,000.
CHRIS MANN: OK.
KEITH VAZ: Plus all those waiting in the queue.
CHRIS MANN: It’s your own Party ..
KEITH VAZ: They really need to be accommodated.
CHRIS MANN: It’s a Labour City Council, you might know. Are you disappointed at that.
KEITH VAZ: (LAUGHS) I’m not making a party political point on this. And the previous Government was a Labour government before the Coalition. So this is about the system Chris. This is about a system that leaves some cities and some urban areas with a lot of asylum seekers, and other parts of the country with none.
CHRIS MANN: But of course ..
KEITH VAZ: And we need to put this right.
CHRIS MANN: As you know, Cambridge is quite unique as a city in that it’s under huge pressure in terms of housing for the people that are already here and working here and living here. There’s a massive problem with not enough accommodation . So where do we find these places?
KEITH VAZ: Sure. You’re absolutely right. I studied in Cambridge for three years. I was there on Wednesday night. I know all the good work that is being done by the City Council. But the fact is, if we share this challenge and this burden equally throughout the country, then it’s much easier for all local authorities. Cambridge is no different from Peterborough or Leicester or any of these other areas. There is enormous pressure. But if you sign a treaty saying that you’re going to let asylum seekers come into this country, and you say you’re going to get 20,000 Syrian refugees coming to the United Kingdom in five years, we need to put them somewhere. Now what we’ve suggested is there’s been offers from people including the Archbishop of Canterbury, who’ve said why not come and house asylum seekers in our house, in our establishment …
CHRIS MANN: OK.
KEITH VAZ: .. you should look at that again.
CHRIS MANN: I know you’ve got to go in a second or two, but I’m going to get a response from Lewis Herbert, the Leader of Cambridge City Council, just after you’ve gone. But your message to him now Keith is ..?
KEITH VAZ: Keep talking to the Government. A city like Cambridge can’t just take on responsibility without the funding, and they need to get the funding to support what they’re doing. And they should continue to keep negotiating to see what can be done to help. Cambridge is a great city, and it’s important that all cities and towns and counties in the country share this burden. That’s what we’re saying.
CHRIS MANN: Keith Vaz MP, thank you so much. Chair of the Home Affairs Committee there. The warning that Britain faces an impending shortage of housing for asylum seekers. The allocation system is unfair, and he says Cambridge has got to take more. Got to take some he says. Well Lewis Herbert is the Leader of Cambridge City Council, and he joins us now. Lewis, good morning to you.
LEWIS HERBERT: Good morning Chris.
CHRIS MANN: What’s your response?
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Chisholm Trail showing signs of progress

07:46 Friday 5th February 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Over the next five years £100 million is going to be spent making Cambridge an easier place to get around. It’s hoped that the money coming from the City Deal will improve roads, cycle paths and public transport. There has been criticism that these schemes aren’t happening quickly enough. One of those which has been long hoped for is the £8.4 million Chisholm Trail, the cycle and walking route that would link North and South Cambridge. Our reporter Sara Varey is on the proposed route this morning. Hi Sara.
SARA VAREY: Hello there from Budster Bicycles. I’m down by the Leper Chapel, just off Newmarket Road, which a lot of people will scoot past as they’re going towards Fen Ditton probably, just on the left-hand side. An ancient chapel right next to the railway line, and every now and again there’s likely to be a train zooming past, full of commuters I’m sure. A peaceful spot, it’s part of the Chisholm Trail as you said. This trail is going to go across Ditton Meadows by the Chapel, Coldhams Common, Mill Road bridge through the blocked arches. It’ll run alongside the railway line to Cambridge Station. There’ll be an underpass under Newmarket Road. There’s also some short sections which will be on the road, including York Street, Ainsworth Street and Brampton Road, which of course are all off Mill Road. And the green spaces that will be linked up by this include Gonville and Caius, Ditton Meadows, Cambridge Past and Present, the Leper Chapel Meadows, the Barnwell Lake area and Coldham’s Common and Stourbridge Common. So it crosses some of the most beautiful places in Cambridge actually. And the idea is keep travelling off the road. keep the cyclists off the road. Give them a safe and attractive way to actually travel to work or for pleasure. But as you say, there has been some controversy about this. Not everybody’s pleased with the progress of this. All these projects under the City Deal were supposed to have been completed within five years. This is likely to be the first one to be completed, and so far we don ‘t actually have a date, although the consultation period has just ended.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Yes. Sara. Thank you very much for that, on the route of the proposed Chisholm Trail. There was a survey carried out last year which showed that nearly 90% of people who responded said they would be in favour of the Chisholm Trail. Joining me now Lewis Herbert, who’s the Labour Leader of Cambridge City council. Morning Lewis.
LEWIS HERBERT: Morning Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Now Jim Chisholm, who was the man who had this idea for the cycle route linking North and South Cambridge, he says he first came up with it in 1998. It’s clearly now very popular. Why do these things take so long to come to fruition?
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