Tag: South Cambridgeshire District Council

Ukip Launch County Council Campaign

17:46 Friday 5th April 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Ukip has revealed the seats it will fight at the up and coming County Council elections on May 2nd. They are to contest all seats in both Fenland and Huntingdonshire, and it shows that their promised push is certainly going to take place here in the East of England. Let’s bring in a County Councillor and one of their organisers for the area, Peter Reeve. Hello Peter.
PETER REEVE: Good afternoon.
CHRIS MANN: So just tell us the news in terms of Cambridgeshire and what you’re going to fight.
PETER REEVE: Yes. Starting with the East of England we’re fighting 318 of the 380 seats, so most of the East of England itself will have a Ukip candidate. Here in Cambridgeshire we’re fighting 54 of the 69 seats that are up.
CHRIS MANN: Ok. Let’s not talk about the individual ..
PETER REEVE: So you can have a Ukip led Council if people want it.
CHRIS MANN: Ok. Don’t talk about individual seats, that’s all I’m going to ask you. Continue reading “Ukip Launch County Council Campaign”

The Northstowe Poker Game And The Missing Millions

17:23 Monday 18th March 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: South Cambridgeshire District Council is set to agree the budget for the first phase of the new Northstowe town with the developers, but at many millions less than was first suggested. Developers Gallagher Estates’ latest offer for infrastructure such as transport and schools now stands at £30 million. That’s less than half the original amount. It will be voted on at a Council meeting tomorrow. So where have the missing millions gone? And what will it mean for the new town? Tim Wotherspoon is Cabinet member for Northstowe, and a councillor for Cottenham. Tim joins us now. Hello Tim.
TIM WOTHERSPOON: Good evening. Yes.
CHRIS MANN: So, how did we get from sixty five million to thirty? Continue reading “The Northstowe Poker Game And The Missing Millions”

Ray Manning On Housing And The Expansion Of Cambridge City

10:20 Tuesday 18th December 2012
Andy Harper Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY HARPER: Joining us is the Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, Ray Manning. .. There are specific issues which we can talk about, but let’s talk first of all about housing. The sale of council houses, the housing associations, and of course the underlying concern about homelessness as well, because so many people want to live in this part of the world. Do you think you’ve got your policy as a council right?
RAY MANNING: I think we’re trying to walk the middle line between the two, because you could have a complete free for all, and build enormous quantities of housing. One of the easier advantages is that houses sell readily round here. When I go to some of the other leaders from other districts, they talk about the problems and getting developers to redevelop a brown field site. We don’t actually have that problem. We’re always looking to where can we put housing to cause the least problem, rather than a case of trying to develop anywhere. So life’s easier that way, but it’s the balance of trying to preserve South Cambs as being the best place in the country to live. Everybody wants to live here. Continue reading “Ray Manning On Housing And The Expansion Of Cambridge City”

Clegg Moots Cash Boost For Northstowe

17:08 Thursday 22nd November 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: The Government today put the Cambridgeshire new town of Northstowe firmly at the top of its building priorities, as it looks to solve the nation’s housing crisis. It’s to share in a £250 million injection of cash to unblock delays and get work on the first of a planned 10,000 new homes started by the Spring of 2014. The announcement was made today by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and afterwards he told me more. (TAPE)
NICK CLEGG: A number of sites around the country including Northstowe which have have got blocked for various reasons, and you’ll know as well as I do that there’s been a bit of stopping and starting on the Northstowe project for some time now, and basically .. and there are several other sites like Northstowe around the country, in other parts of the country, where if we can only unblock them, all at the same time, we’d be able to build close to 50,000 new homes across the country pretty quickly, including of course up to 10,000 homes in Northstowe. And I’ve announced today that we’re putting up, as far as central government is concerned, £225 million to be made available to those sites, so that we can finally get building. And I very much hope that that’s the final bit in the jigsaw puzzle if you like, which is required to give the green light to Northstowe becoming a reality, and not just a dream on a planner’s map.
CHRIS MANN: So how much of that £225 million will be spent on Northstowe? And what exactly will it be for? Continue reading “Clegg Moots Cash Boost For Northstowe”

The Reality Of Northstowe

08:08 Thursday 25th October 2012
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: The first phase of the biggest new town in Britain since Milton Keynes was approved yesterday, but residents are not happy. South Cambridgeshire District Council approved the first 1,500 of 10,000 proposed new homes for the Northstowe development, just north west of Cambridge yesterday. Eight parish councils around that site put forward their objections. Geoff Twiss is from Over Parish Council. He was one of the people unhappy.(TAPE)
GEOFF TWISS: Unhappy, resigned. I think people know which way the wind is blowing. But there was a lot of concern from local residents, and particularly from the local parish councils. So yes, people really were bothered on all sorts of grounds. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well we’ve been to the villages around the area who are concerned. Our reporter Dotty McLeod is now in Longstanton for us, which will also be affected. Continue reading “The Reality Of Northstowe”

Cambridge Green Belt – New Homes for Rough Sleepers?

10:23 Monday 27th August 2012
Mid-Morning Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: A few minutes ago we heard from Paul Miner from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, as they call on the Government to honour its pledge to safeguard the Green Belt. It’s claimed there are bids for more than 81,000 homes on Green Belt land around cities and towns across England, a matter of concern for us all, I’m sure. Well Paul told us he was particularly concerned about plans for land around South Cambridgeshire. (TAPE)
PAUL MINER: It surprised and disturbed us to find that in the past couple of years new local plans have been coming forward which are actually talking about major changes to the Green Belt. And in Cambridge in particular, the City Council is talking about building 12,000 new dwellings on the Green Belt. And South Cambridgeshire District, on top of that, is likely to propose even more, which would be a major change in Cambridgeshire’s Green Belt. (LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: Well let’s get some instant reaction now, because Councillor Simon Edwards, Deputy Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council is on duty even today, on a Bank Holiday. .. What do you think of what Paul Miner had to say? Are you concerned? Continue reading “Cambridge Green Belt – New Homes for Rough Sleepers?”

Homelessness Reaching Middle Class Families in South Cambridgeshire

17:40 Tuesday 31st July 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

NICK FAIRBAIRN: There’s been a rise in the number of households needing emergency accommodation in the East of England. Date company SSentif has found that homelessness has risen by around 25% over the last three years, with the highest rise happening in this region.Cllr Mark Howell is the Cabinet Member for Housing at South Cambridgeshire District Council, and joins me in the studio now. Mark, have you seen a rise in homelessness in South Cambridgeshire? Has this been an upward trend? Continue reading “Homelessness Reaching Middle Class Families in South Cambridgeshire”

Local Chamber Pledges Council Support For Inward Investors

CHRIS MANN: The good news of 400 new jobs being created at Babraham Institute where the Government has put in £44 million to the research campus, and we have to contrast that with the bad news, particularly in Peterborough, where 1,500 temporary winter contracts have come to an end, and people there are seeking new work. Let’s put it in perspective now. The Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce John Bridge joins me live. John, good evening to you.
JOHN BRIDGE: Yes. Good evening Chris.
CHRIS MANN: Quite sharp, isn’t it, the contrast between the top end where skilled workers are very much wanted in this county, and the bottom end where others, well, their work comes and goes? Continue reading “Local Chamber Pledges Council Support For Inward Investors”