Peterborough District Hospital – proposed development ‘a complete mess’

07:08 Thursday 2nd July 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Our top story for Cambridgeshire this morning, “It’s too slow and it’s too messy.” That’s the verdict of some people in Peterborough on the work going on at the old District Hospital site off Thorpe Road. It’s been just under a year since it was announced the old PDH site would be turned into 350 new homes and a brand new primary school. Twelve months on, and many people not too happy with the progress. Our reporter Sophia Alipour has been speaking to some of them outside the old hospital remains.
(TAPE)(OB)
PUBLIC ONE: It looks disgusting.
PUBLIC TWO: Yes it’s horrible from the outside.
SOPHIA ALIPOUR: What would you like to see built here instead?
PUBLIC ONE: Something nice to look at. Not something ugly. Maybe a homeless shelter, ‘cos I think homeless people live there.
PUBLIC TWO: Something like flats or houses, which is what it was meant to be.
SOPHIA ALIPOUR: Could I ask you to describe what the front of the old hospital currently looks like?
PUBLIC THREE: Half falling down and derelict.
PUBLIC FOUR: I’m surprised they haven’t done much more than they have.
PUBLIC FIVE: We work opposite the building. There was a little bit of noise a couple of weeks ago, but that’s been it. A slow process.
PUBLIC SIX: A mess. A complete mess. I wish they would get on with it.
(STUDIO)(LIVE)
DOTTY MCLEOD: Well Peterborough’s MP Stewart Jackson has told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire he’s happy with progress at the site, despite work apparently slowing down around the General Election. But Peterborough City councillor Ed Murphy has expressed his concerns, and he joins me now. So what do you think to the progress there Ed?
ED MURPHY: I’m not too concerned about the progress, which has been very shortcoming. The Hospital has now been there for fifty years. I’m looking at it at the moment. It’s still up, and it’s going to take some time to take it down, because it’s going to be quite a feat to take it down. What I’m concerned about is the current plans. The school hasn’t got adequate play facilities for the children, and they need to extend the site. And I think the developers are probably going to come in and try and go up more stories than they really should. So I’m hoping that the City Council do their utmost to ensure that development benefits local people, not just the bottom line profits of the developers.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So I was looking at this site on Google Maps last night, because when you drive past on Thorpe Road you might glance to your left, but you don’t always get a proper look, do you? And what surprised me was actually the size of this site, because 23 acres, it sounds quite big, but when you factor in a primary school, presumably some houses having gardens, car parking as well, maybe it’s not actually that big for 350 homes.
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Cambridgeshire Local Plan – Inspector calls for more evidence

17:21 Wednesday 1st July 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: People in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire are to be consulted once more on how the area’s councils can deliver thousands of new houses. Last month a Government inspector said more work must be done on the Local Plan, which maps out long term development for the two districts. Cambridge City and South Cambs will work together to address those concerns. Well let’s find out more from councillor Robert Turner, who is South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, who joins me now. Robert, hello.
ROBERT TURNER: Good afternoon Chris, and good afternoon to all your listeners.
CHRIS MANN: So a bit of a slap on the wrist for you guys from these Inspectors. They said that you hadn’t done enough and your ideas were all wrong basically.
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Cambridge Nanosystems graphene production

07:54 Tuesday 30th June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Cambridge Nanosystems has just opened. They specialise in a very special kind of material called graphene. It’s brand new. It’s 200 times stronger than steel, and it could one day allow us to roll up our mobile phones. Our reporter Sue Marchant has been out to see graphene on the production line with the Managing Director Jerome Joaug, and she doesn’t waste any time finding out more.
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Whittlesey planning approval for Sainsburys

08:27 Tuesday 23rd June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: It has been dubbed Supermarketgate. For a number of years we have been reporting on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire that the town of Whittlesey could get a new supermarket. Well, there was a battle, and then it was over, between a couple of the biggest players in the industry. Sainsburys seems to have come out on top. The planning application for the supermarket included an industrial estate, a new nature and leisure reserve to include Gildenburgh Water, and then that was all thrown into a muddle. There were reports that Sainsburys could pull out if final planning permission wasn’t granted within a certain time. Well yesterday that planning permission was granted by Fenland District Council. So is Whittlesey finally going to get its Sainsburys? Johnnie Dee is in Whittlesey for me this morning. Hi there Johnny.
(OB)
JOHHNY DEE: Hello Dotty. Yes I’m right on the border Dotty between Whittlesey and the very small village of Eastrea, which is about seven, eight miles from Peterborough. I’ve come down a little country lane, and to my left it’s very idyllic and right out in the countryside really, because there’s a field of wheat to my left, and if I turn just 180° over the other side on the right, there’s this huge area which will be a 55 acre country park, in the mould of Ferry Meadows or indeed the Milton Country Park over your way in Cambridge Dotty. I’ve also got with me a guest. He’s councillor Alex Miscandlon, who’s the Chair of Fenland District Council’s Planning Committee, and a local councillor, and to boot, the new Mayor of Whittlesey. Congratulations Alex.
ALEX MISCANDLON: Thank you very much.
JOHNNY DEE: So Alex, what happened yesterday?
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Region a hotspot for road traffic accidents

08:09 Monday 22nd June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: For the first time figures have been released that show where the people involved in accidents have come from, and not just where the accidents took place, and it’s not good news for people from Peterborough and North East Cambridgeshire. Both those parliamentary constituencies ranking very highly in these figures, more accident prone that most it seems in those parts of Cambridgeshire. These findings have been released by PACTS, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. David Davies is the Executive Director.
(TAPE)
DAVID DAVIES: Some road networks are more hazardous than others, particularly if you’ve got rural roads, some fast single carriageway roads. And it can simply reflect higher levels of driving, or for example motorcycle use, or pedestrian use in some cases. But I think in Cambridge, in terms of North East Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, it is largely about drivers. That’s the figures for car occupants, which stand out as being higher than average.
(LIVE)
DOTTY MCLEOD: Well when Stewart Jackson the MP for Peterborough heard of these figures he posted a message on Twitter saying he needed to investigate. We can talk to him now. So have you had a closer look at these figures Stewart? What do you think they tell us about Peterborough?
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Peterborough Lincolnshire merger plan

07:27 Thursday 18th June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: We all know, don’t we? We constantly hear it. Local councils struggling, they’ve got shrinking budgets. Times are tight. Well could there be an alternative, a super-council? This is one suggestion from the new Leader of Peterborough City Council. A meeting was held last night between Lincolnshire and Peterborough City Council about the possibility of co-operating to make one council to rule them all .. I may be slightly paraphrasing there. John Holdich the Leader of Peterborough City Council joins me now. So John, what’s the idea here?
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Police chief to retire within weeks

11:16 Tuesday 16th June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Producer Ben has got some breaking news for us this morning. Morning Ben.
BENOIT STEVENSON: Yes Paul. A big announcement coming from the Cambridge Constabulary this morning. Simon Parr the Chief Constable of Cambridge Constabulary has today announced he is to retire at the end of July 2015. So this is the man in charge …
PAUL STAINTON: Next month.
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Peterborough squatters demand an apology for councillor remarks

17:46 Monday 15th June 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: An update now on the Peterborough squatters, who last week moved to a third location in Priestgate. They claim to be holding an austerity protest, and today entered the Town Hall in the city, looking for an apology from the (Deputy) Leader of the Conservatives, who’s branded them ‘criminals’ during a recent interview on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Their (Deputy) party Leader of course is councillor Wayne Fitzgerald. His argument, if you break in to a building, you’re breaking the law. And Wayne joins me now. Hello Wayne.
WAYNE FITZGERALD: Hi Chris How are you?
CHRIS MANN: Yes good. Yes thank you. Tell us what’s happened today.
WAYNE FITZGERALD: Oh well just to clarify, what I said is I have no proof that any individual in the group that was occupying Aqua House actually physically broke in. What I mean to say is anybody who breaks into a building to gain entrance, it’s a criminal act in the law. That’s that. And I stand by that, and I think most people would recognise the fact is if you enter a building unlawfully you should be punished for it. And that is my view.
CHRIS MANN: So what happened earlier?
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