Tag: Cambridgeshire County Council

Cambs Budget 2014 – The Opposition Responds

10:09 Wednesday 19th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: Last night councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council agreed their budget, as they decided how to cut £37 million over the next couple of years. Services facing cuts included winter road gritting, concessionary fares on park and ride buses, and of course, care. The budget was approved by 33 votes to 20, but Labour decided to abstain. I’m joined now by the Leader of the Labour party on Cambridgeshire County Council, Paul Sales. Paul, good morning.
PAUL SALES: Good morning Andie. How are you?
ANDIE HARPER: Yes, good thank you. So how are you after what was obviously a long day?
PAUL SALES: In common with the other councillors, I should think we’re all a bit tired this morning. The meeting was all day, and was hard work.
ANDIE HARPER: Now why did Labour abstain? So was it trying to have the best of both worlds?
Continue reading “Cambs Budget 2014 – The Opposition Responds”

Cambs Budget 2014 – A Big Day at Shire Hall

08:07 Tuesday 18th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[D]OTTY MCLEOD: Shire Hall, the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council and an iconic listed building in the centre of Cambridge, should be sold. That’s according to one Liberal Democrat councillor, in the face of cuts to the County Council’s budget. So as the Government reduces the amount it’s giving to councils, is it time to sell off the silverware to protect the vulnerable in our county? Maurice Leake is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He says places like Shire Hall should be sold.
(TAPE)
MAURICE LEAKE: We’re seeing consistent cuts in the amount of staff that we have at Shire Hall and across the County Council, and there comes a time when you don’t need as many buildings as you’ve got. Shire Hall is a very expensive building to maintain. It needs an awful lot of work doing to it if it’s going to be energy efficient. It’s got a G rating, and anybody who’s bought a fridge recently will now that you’re looking for an A, A+, A++, and here we have it at the very bottom of the list. This means that our council tax money is just going out of the windows at Shire Hall, rather than being used for frontline services.
(LIVE)
DOTTY MCLEOD: Now we have in the studio with us Martin Curtis, the Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, who was shaking his head throughout that. Martin will be talking to you in just a second, but first I want to turn to Paul Bullen, who is the Leader of the UKIP group at Cambridgeshire County Council. So Paul, what do you think of this idea? Sell off Shire Hall. Is it a good plan ?
Continue reading “Cambs Budget 2014 – A Big Day at Shire Hall”

Martin Curtis on Flooding in Whittlesey

17:17 Wednesday 5th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Turn on the TV or listen to the radio, you can’t avoid the bad weather. If it’s not affecting you right now, it will do soon. .. Let’s look at the situation in Cambridgeshire now, and bring in Martin Curtis, councillor Martin Curtis, who’s the Leader of the County Council. Hello Martin.
MARTIN CURTIS: Good evening.
CHRIS MANN: And also of course councillor for Whittlesey North, appropriately enough, because that’s an area or THE area probably, worst affected by flooding. Just how bad is it there?
Continue reading “Martin Curtis on Flooding in Whittlesey”

Maurice Leake On Selling Cambridgeshire’s Farms

07:40 Friday 31st January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: It’s the largest farms estate in England. It employs 216 tenants and brings in revenue of nearly £4 million a year. But the County’s Liberal Democrats say it’s time to sell off Cambridgeshire County Council’s tenant farms. The party has published its alternative budget. It includes a proposal to sell off the 34,000 acre estate. We’ll be hearing from the Leader of the County’s LibDems in just a moment, but first we’re joined by Philip Brashaw, a County Council tenant farmer from Whittlesey. Phil, morning
PHILIP BRADSHAW: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: Is this a brilliant idea?
Continue reading “Maurice Leake On Selling Cambridgeshire’s Farms”

Contract Signed For Northstowe Start

10:00 Wednesday 29th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[S]UZIE ROBERTS: It’s been revealed this morning that £30 million has been secured for the first 1,500 homes in Northstowe. The money will fund infrastructure projects around the new town, including a new primary school, secondary school and community centre. Cllr Ian Bates was asked when he thought work on the new development would start.
IAN BATES: We hope that perhaps later this year we will start to see some activity on the site. A primary school will be built early on, which means that when the people do move in, there will be those sort of accommdations ready for their children to go to school. It is a major step forward for Northstowe, but I’ve been around a long time as well, but it has been around a long time and people perhaps have thought it would never happen.
SUZIE ROBERTS: You can hear more of that interview with Ian Bates with Andy Harper straight after this bulletin.

10:10

[A]NDIE HARPER: Plans for a new town in the county north of Cambridge beside the villages of Oakington and Longstanton were first revealed over ten years ago. But while Northstowe as it became known exists on paper, it doesn’t exist in reality, even though people were supposed to be living there by now. But as you heard in the news, building work can finally get under way, and soon. Well earlier I spoke to Cllr Ian Bates, Cabinet Member for Growth and Planning for Cambridgeshire County Council, to try and find out what today is all about. I suggested to him I’d been around a long time, and never expected this to happen. But today’s the day. He told me why.
Continue reading “Contract Signed For Northstowe Start”

Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes

07:08 Tuesday 28th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: They’ve got the land. They need to make money to balance the books. So should Cambridgeshire County Council set up its own property development company? It’s an idea that will be discussed by councillors today, and the Council say it would generate income, at the same time as helping meet the urgent need for new homes. Well let’s hear now from Ashley Walsh, who’s the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Resources on Cambridgeshire County Council. Morning Ashley. Good idea or bad idea?
ASHLEY WALSH: I think it’s a good idea. I have families in my division in Cambridge who can’t afford to live and help their children live in the city they grew up in. There’s a massive housing crisis in Cambridge, and we need to build social housing. You said earlier that why did we ever stop building social housing. Well I’m glad to see the County Council and Tories on the County Council accepting the need to build more social housing.
PAUL STAINTON: Why did we stop building social housing? I grew up in a council house, pit houses in Yorkshire. That was de rigeur. Remind us why we stopped.
Continue reading “Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes”

Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite

10:35 Monday 27th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: Cambridge and Peterborough appear to be booming. But is it a different story in the Fens? Many of you have been in touch to have your say this morning. Last year there was a summit of local politicians, looking for a long term solution for flooding which closes the road at Welney year after year. Now villagers say the waters are getting higher and lasting for longer. New electronic signs were going to be fitted by Norfolk County Council, but the flooding has even stopped this happening. Karl Rands is Area Highways Manager for the west of Norfolk County Council. Karl, good morning to you.
KARL RANDS: Good morning to you.
ANDIE HARPER: It is a difficult place in many many ways, isn’t it, Welney, because it’s so very much on the borderlands , isn’t it?
KARL RANDS: Indeed, yes it is. It is a difficult location, obviously, because The Wash is there, which does cause residents and drivers a problem when it floods the carriageway.
ANDIE HARPER: And of course we have the two counties meeting, and so there are always issues there. As long as I’ve been doing this programme, and it’s a long time now Karl, around this time of the year we keep telling people that the Wash Road at Welney is closed, and all the usual diversions are in place. Surely to goodness there is something that could be done about it, long term.
Continue reading “Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite”

Fairer Funding For Cambridgeshire – The Leader Goes To London

17:07 Tuesday 14th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: The Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council is to make a personal appeal to the Prime Minister over the raw deal he feels the county gets in education. Martin Curtis is meeting David Cameron at Downing Street tomorrow. He’ll tell him that a generation of children’s education is being blighted, because Cambridgeshire is the most underfunded in the country, and it’s getting worse. Today the Council Cabinet agreed the latest budget, as part of the £149 million in savings over the next five years. And afterwards Cllr Curtis told me exclusively of his meeting with the Prime Minister, and the reasons behind it.
Continue reading “Fairer Funding For Cambridgeshire – The Leader Goes To London”