I’d strongly encourage all local residents to wander over to Rock Road and take a look at the library display today.
Read the full article...Cambridge City Council Byelection Result
Queen Edith’s has a new councillor, and it’s Viki Sanders of the Liberal Democrats.
Read the full article...Byelection News Roundup No.3 ? the Hustings
By arranging this event, Homerton really showed Cambridge City Council how local democracy could – and should – be brought to the people.
Read the full article...Byelection News Roundup No.2
Without rashly predicting who’s going to win, I reckon the winning candidate’s vote share will be low, and the gap between first and third places smaller than it’s been for years.
Read the full article...Queen Edith’s Byelection: Candidates and Voting Details
I’ve compiled a short guide to the details of our forthcoming byelection, including a list of candidates and links to their websites.
Read the full article...Voting to fight Green Belt development
A short article looking at forthcoming local and national elections, discussing which parties might be most sympathetic to those wishing to reduce or prevent Green Belt development.
Read the full article...Byelection News Roundup No.1
Including: if you get a visit from a prospective candidate, what issues should you be raising with them?
Read the full article...Conservative candidate selected for general election
The South Cambridgeshire Conservatives have selected Heidi Allen to be its candidate in next year’s General Election, after Andrew Lansley’s retirement.
Read the full article...Queen Edith’s Byelection, November 2014 – Dates and Voting Details
The election itself will be held on Thursday 13th November. Councillor Birtles’ resignation still does not have any official explanation.
Read the full article...City Council byelection called after Sue Birtles resigns
On a personal level, I have found Councillor Birtles to have been approachable and effective as a councillor, and her resignation will be a loss to Queen Edith’s.
Read the full article...Shortlist for Queen Edith’s potential next MP announced
The South Cambridgeshire Conservative Association has chosen a shortlist of four to be the party’s candidate for the next election.
Read the full article...The Marque nominated for “unforgivably bad” buildings prize
“The Marque” development has been nominated for a major award – but don’t worry, the world hasn’t gone mad, it’s for the “Carbuncle Cup”.
Read the full article...Queen Edith’s to get new MP at next year’s election
South Cambridgeshire constituency member of parliament Andrew Lansley has announced that he will be retiring as an MP at the next General Election. Mr Lansley has been MP for this area (which includes the Queen Edith’s ward of Cambridge city) since 1997. There had been widespread speculation that he could be nominated as the UK’s
Read the full article...EF Language School development running two months late
Balfour Beatty project manager David Callow tells me that the work is scheduled to be completed on 26 August.
Read the full article...Parking Spot
Few subjects get people worked up as much in Queen Edith’s as parking, and it’s not surprising, because the attitude of so many drivers is that the law, courtesy and consideration are things that only apply to other people.
Read the full article...What are the Area Committee Meetings for?
I raise this point because I think the council should either make this clearer, or change the format of the meetings to make them more public-focused.
Read the full article...Unmissable local walk by Allan Brigham this Sunday
“The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” will be looking at how successful we’ve been (or haven’t been!) at making this area an attractive place to live.
Read the full article...A Look Ahead to the 2014 City Council Election in Queen Edith’s
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the chance to communicate with all of the candidates. Here’s what I’ve found out.
Read the full article...An independent guide to the Cambridge City Council Election 2014 in Queen Ediths
Simply by reading the page I’ve put together, voters of Queen Edith’s will have far more idea about what they’re voting for than residents in any of the other 13 wards of the city.
Read the full article...Could Queen Edith’s provide a shock election result again?
In 2012, Queen Edith’s provided the most surprising result in the whole of Cambridge when it elected its first-ever Labour councillor: could it provide a shock again in 2014?
Read the full article...Four council candidates standing in Queen Edith’s
Indications are that there’s going to be more competition than last year, as I’ve already had information from three candidates through my letterbox.
Read the full article...Surprise as Council approves redevelopment of 241 Hills Road
Councillors surprisingly went against the advice of their own officers and approved a proposed development on the corner of Hills Avenue and Hills Road.
Read the full article...Thoughts about the proposed Hills Road cycle lanes
The main decision to be made seems to be whether to go for a cycle path partitioned off from the road by a kerb and posts, or one which has no barrier (but is wider).
Read the full article...Hills Road cycle lanes: exhibition this Thursday
Armed with a fair amount of government money, the council is planning to create wider and safer cycleways which go far beyond painting lines on the road.
Read the full article...Residents speak out, but City Council votes through Local Plan
The City Council met on Thursday to vote on its “Local Plan”, which will direct development in the area for the next 15 years. The result was a formality.
Read the full article...Council to listen to residents about Green Belt plans
A special meeting of the City Council takes place this Thursday to consider two petitions objecting to aspects of the proposed Local Plan for the area.
Read the full article...“You would think it were not green belt, but it is.”
The clique of county councillors called the “cabinet” has been stopped in enthusiastically leaping on the development opportunities looming off Wort’s Causeway.
Read the full article...Worts Causeway development marches on
The County Council has today been ensuring it plays its part in facilitating the locally unwanted development on the Green Belt in Queen Edith’s.
Read the full article...Not a great night for our local councillors
Last night I attended the first “South Area Committee” meeting of the year. I felt many of the 20-30 members of the public there came away unimpressed.
Read the full article...How to object to the Council’s draft local plan ? a guide
The Save The Cambridge Green Belt Campaign has produced this short guide to the otherwise rather baffling process of commenting on the local Council’s draft local plan.
Read the full article...Park & Ride Parking Charges: a small victory for democracy
Last week I had a bit of a rant here about a County Council decision which was simply a bad idea, yet looked like it was going to be implemented anyway. In a small victory for democracy today, the proposal was at least sent for discussion.
Read the full article...EF Language School Developers introduce themselves
The developers have commenced a charm offensive by delivering a “Residents Newsletter” to neighbouring properties, explaining what they’re doing and how long it’s going to take to complete.
Read the full article...Parking Charges at the Park and Ride: more parking chaos on the way
Today’s news that our County Council wants to start charging for parking at the Park and Ride sites is not just objectionable, it’s idiotic.
Read the full article...Campaign to save the Cambridge Green Belt website
The campaign to save the Cambridge Green Belt now has a website at www.greenbeltsos.org.uk which includes a link to a petition on the subject at Change.org.
Read the full article...New segregated cycleways for Hills Road on the way
Cambridgeshire County Council was recently successful in an application for ?4 million of funding to increase cycling in the city, with one scheme aiming to reconfigure Hills Road to provide segregated bike lanes.
Read the full article...Former Councillor weighs in with Wort’s Causeway criticism
Former Queen Edith’s county councillor Geoff Heathcock has condemned the approval of the Wort’s Causeway development in no uncertain terms.
Read the full article...Councillor Swanson’s position on development in the Green Belt
I have now been sent the text of the speech made by Queen Edith’s councillor Jean Swanson outlining her concerns about development on the Green Belt, but explaining her position on supporting the Wort’s Causeway development.
Read the full article...City Council refuses to remove Wort’s Causeway development from Local Plan
At a special council meeting on Thursday night, none of the city’s Labour or Liberal Democrat councillors were prepared to vote to delete the two Wort’s Causeway sites from the Local Plan.
Read the full article...Further reports add to case against Worts Causeway development
A number of additional documents have been sent to us which will be of interest to anyone following the case of the Worts Causeway development.
Read the full article...New “Queen Edith” pub on Wulfstan Way gets go-ahead
The go-ahead has been given for a new pub in the heart of the area, replacing the old Queen Edith pub on Wulfstan Way.
Read the full article...Resident’s letter demolishes case for Wort’s Causeway development
An excellent letter from local resident Jeremy Jones takes the council’s case for building on the Green Belt to task, on the grounds of it being based on bad data, misinterpreting national guidelines, and conceding to demands too easily.
Read the full article...Bad news for the Wort’s Causeway campaign
The council has decided that development on the sites concerned (“GB1 and GB2”) is unavoidable if the required new housing targets are to be met.
Read the full article...EF Language School Development Before Council Committee
In which we find that the proposal for the revised EF Language School development is scheduled to go before the council’s South Area Committee on Thursday 9 May.
Read the full article...Cambridgeshire County Council elections, May 2013: What happened
In which we learn that the voters of Queen Edith’s have elected Amanda Taylor to be their County Councillor for the next four years.
Read the full article...Cambridgeshire County Council elections, May 2013: What’s likely to happen?
In the third and final part of my look at the forthcoming County Council election here in Queen Edith’s, it’s time to assess the candidates themselves.
Read the full article...Cambridgeshire County Council elections, May 2013: our candidates
In which, with two weeks to the 2013 Cambridgeshire County Council elections, we see how much we can find out about the four candidates asking for our vote.
Read the full article...EF Language School revised proposals are now online
In which the revised (April 2013) proposals for the development of the EF Language School on Hills Road become available at the City Council Planning Website.
Read the full article...Queen Edith’s County Council Election 2013 Guide
In which we look at the background to the forthcoming Cambridgeshire County Council elections and wonder if it’s worth voting when the compounded rural vote is likely to continue to dictate the majority on the council.
Read the full article...The case against any Wort’s Causeway housing development
In which we see what a thoroughly well researched argument against a housing development looks like.
Read the full article...EF Language School revised plans revealed
In which the EF Language School returns with a new set of plans for developing its Hills Road site, revealed to the public at an exhibition evening on 14 March.
Read the full article...