Tag: Huntingdonshire District Council

Richard Taylor – the right to report

08:07 Wednesday 6th August 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: A change in the law will bring local politics into the 21st century. That’s according to Eric Pickles. The Local Government Secretary assigned a Parliamentary Order allowing the press and public to film and digitally report from all public council meetings. It’s hoped this right to report will bring an end to some councils’ resistance to allow filming, blogging and tweeting during meetings. Well earlier the Leader of Hunts District Council Jason Ablewhite gave his reaction to the news.
(TAPE)
JASON ABLEWHITE: We welcome these changes as a council, although we amended our constitution over a year ago now to allow filming, to allow tweeting, and to bring our council well into the 21st century, ahead of this new legislation.
PAUL STAINTON: Does it mean now that all councils have to allow it, without having consultations or anything else?
JASON ABLEWHITE: I think they should. At the end of the day local democracy, local councils, should be able to be transparent, if people want to come along. We live in a whole new era now, where people tweet, social media pages. Most councillors now, regardless of age, have a social media page. Lots tweet on a regular basis to get out to a wider audience, and to glean views. And I think it’s only right that we move into the 21st century and allow this sort of thing to happen.
PAUL STAINTON: One political blogger though from Cambridge once had a bit of trouble filming a district council meeting in Huntingdonshire, didn’t he? Is that a thing of the past then?
JASON ABLEWHITE: (LAUGHS) He certainly did, and I fully support the actions of the Chairman at the time, because it was totally unprecedented for somebody to turn up at a council meeting, plonk a tripod in the middle of the floor and start filming the proceedings. There was nothing in our constitution to allow it. And as a result of that we had debate about it, we had round discussion about whether it was appropriate, and we decided then, well in advance of this legislation, that actually we’ve got to move into the 21st century, and actually this is part and parcel of the modern day.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: That was Jason Ablewhite from Hunts District Council talking to me earlier. Well the blogger he was talking about, who set up his tripod and his camera, was Richard Taylor. He’s a citizen journalist who’s reported from council meetings right across Cambridgeshire, and come up against I think it’s fair to say a bit of resistance Richard.
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Lewis Herbert on the Challenges Facing Labour on Cambridge City Council

10:18 Thursday 17th July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: How long have you been in the city? I’ve been here twenty seven years, and I have seen dramatic changes over that time as you might expect of a period of that long. But what about you?
LEWIS HERBERT: Twenty four years. I came to Cambridge out of choice. It was on a shortlist of three or four places I wanted to live in. I’d been living in New Zealand. I’d been a councillor in London, and I was an expert on recycling, so I took on the job of going from nothing to about 40% recycling at the County Council, working closely with the city. And one of the things I did then was actually to work with the different councils to create the partnerships, and actually make sure that we were all doing it together. So twenty four years. It is a special city. It looked truly magical on the day of the Tour de France, and it does have major challenges. But I think at heart what I’m hearing from people is we’ve got something so precious and so special that we build on what we’ve got.
ANDIE HARPER: Now at the time that you were elected you described Cambridge as a tale of two cities, and that part of your master plan really was to close the gap between the rich and the poor. And John in a way, he’s texted this morning, and he’s really hit the nail on the head, because he says “Question for the Labour Leader. Chesterton is often overlooked, as things done in the city centre get all the money and all the headlines. For instance, we have on-pavement parking plus bikes. We walk in fear. What will they do and no flannel.” Now he mentions specific issues there, but it does encapsulate really I think the point you were making. It is undoubtedly a tale of two cities.
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South Cambs and Hunts – District Councils Sharing Services

17:19 Friday 11th July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: A cost-saving strategic partnership between South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire District Councils has been approved. We talked about it on the programme a couple of weeks ago. It is hoped that by sharing building control, legal and IT services they can save half a million pounds. On Monday Cambridge City Council will consider a report on sharing their legal and IT services. It’s hoped this will save even more for the councils. Well joining me in the studio now is Simon Edwards, who is the Deputy Leader of South Cambs District Council. Hello Simon.
SIMON EDWARDS: Good evening Chris.
CHRIS MANN: So just tell us what was approved last night exactly.
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Compost Awareness Week in Cambridgeshire

09:55 Tuesday 6th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: It’s the start of Compost Awareness Week. This is a week of activities, events and publicity to improve awareness about using organic waste as a resource to produce compost. We’ve just been treated to a beautiful Bank Holiday weekend, and no doubt many of you spent the time in your gardens, but how many of you bothered to make your own compost? How many of you would have bothered to do what we did, which is when we moved quite recently, we filled two sacks up of compost that I had created in one of our two compost bins, and took it with us, because it was such good stuff? Well Mark Shelton is the Education Manager for AmeyCespa. Mark, good morning.
MARK SHELTON: Morning Andie.
ANDIE HARPER: Nice to talk to you. I remember when Donarbon ran the site at Waterbeach a few years ago, I spent a fascinating day there, I have to say, being shown around, and certainly the garden composting department was a busy one, and you could in those days go and buy garden sacks of compost. Does it still happen?
MARK SHELTON: We give it away free. It still happens, and we’ve actually got a visit today, so we are still showing people around, and people are still welcome to come. It’s free here at the Waterbeach site, and we also make the compost available free at our March and our Alconbury sites.
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St Neots the Poor Relation of Huntingdon

08:40 Friday 11th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Earlier in the show we heard how two of our districts are going to start sharing services. South Cambridgeshire and Hunts District Councils are to form a strategic partnership to share services and help the authorities to save money. So this got us thinking. Is this the start of a transformation, a revolution? Will we soon have one big council for Cambridgeshire, and would it save us a pot of cash? Well we’ve been called by a Hunts District councillor for St Neots, who wants the town to leave Huntingdon District Council and join South Cambridgeshire. His name is Steve Van De Kerkhove. Steve, good morning.
STEVE VAN DE KERKHOVE: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: What’s the matter with you?
STEVE VAN DE KERKHOVE: Well I’ll tell you what. Pretty much everyone I speak to in this town is sick to death of Huntingdonshire District Council.
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Ray Manning on Merging Functions and the Unitary Authority

17:17 Thursday 10th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Two Cambridgeshire district councils are to share some services in the future. South Cambs and Huntingdonshire Councils have said the partnership is in response to 25% cuts in national grant funding over the past three years. To explain more on that I’m joined in the studio now by Cllr Ray Manning, who is Leader of South Cambridgeshire. Ray, welcome. Thank you.
RAY MANNING: Hello there.
CHRIS MANN: So, what services are you planning to share?
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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.
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Unitary Authority For Greater Cambridge

17:07 Monday 11th November 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: So, the man who was, until earlier this year, the most powerful politician in Cambridgeshire local government, has declared his support for a radical shake-up, and the abolition of a tier of councils. It would mean an end to Cambridge City Council, East Cambs, South Cambs, Hunts District and Fenland. In their place, former Conservative Leader of the County Council Nick Clarke now favours a new unitary authority for Greater Cambridge, and an enlargement of the one in Peterborough that already exists. He says the move would save money and be more effective. I’ll get reaction live in the studio from the Leader of Cambridge City Council, and the Leader of Huntingdonshire District Council, both with axes apparently poised above their heads. But first of all Nick Clarke. Welcome.
NICK CLARKE: Good afternoon Chris.
CHRIS MANN: You didn’t say this when you were in power.
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