Cereste Warns of Dire Consequences if Solar Plans Thwarted

17:08 Monday 24th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]ETER SWAN: Let’s begin then with Peterborough City Council, because they’re set to invest millions of pounds into an ambitious project including an energy farm, despite being urged not to. They’ve decided to ignore recommendations by their own Rural Scrutiny Commission not to build a solar farm at the America Farm site, arguing that the figures do add up. The Council face a nineteen million pound gap in their 2015/2016 budget, and they’re confident the combination of solar and wind farms at three sites across the city could help to protect vital services from the inevitable cuts to come. Well I spoke earlier to Council Leader Marco Cereste, who explained the reasons as to why they’re still planning to go ahead.
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Gillian Beasley – A Question From Richard

09:53 Friday 21st February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: Richard’s in Peterborough. Good morning Richard. What do you make of all of this? You live in the city, and Stewart Jackson was saying earlier it’s been dragged through the mud really. Just after the Dennehy case and this story and yet most people are decent. But what do you make of it?
RICHARD FROM PETERBOROUGH: Well that’s how it occurs to me. The Dennehy case is going to be wound up next week or the week after, when she and her accomplices will be sentenced. And I was just wondering, is it just coincidental that two such cases making Peterborough infamous have occurred so close to each other. You hear hearsay stories that Peterborough is used as a dump by other cities to get rid of their unwanted. And we can’t get a definitive answer on this. Maybe perhaps you can, preferably from the Chief Executive Gillian Beasley.
ANDIE HARPER: So are you making a link then between the Dennehy case, which after all she is from this country. Her victims, with one exception ..
RICHARD FROM PETERBOROUGH: Not from Peterborough.
ANDIE HARPER: No I take your point, not from Peterborough. But you are making a link between that case, if you like home-grown criminals, and people coming in from the Czech Republic or wherever. You think Peterborough is being used as a dumping ground, not just people from abroad, but from this country?
RICHARD FROM PETERBOROUGH: Precisely. I have heard tales of hearsay again that Cambridge .. dossers and beggars and unemployed of Cambridge are invited or leaned on to go to Peterborough. Can we please have an answer from Peterborough Council. Is this the case?
ANDIE HARPER: But people from this country are free to move wherever they want to. And so wherever Dennehy came from ..
RICHARD FROM PETERBOROUGH: But why is it so many of them seem to come to Peterborough?
ANDIE HARPER: Well that is I suppose a good question. So you feel that they are being attracted to the city, or sent to the city? What attracts them to the city then?
RICHARD FROM PETERBOROUGH: Well that’s the question I’d like Gillian Beasley preferably to answer. Does Peterborough agree to take all comers, whatever their histories, whatever their problems? Joanna Dennehy for instance, she was an unemployed unmarried mother who had abandoned her children. She already had drug and drink problems. And yet she winds up in a .. presumably a council property in Orton Goldhay Peterborough. How did she wind up there from Harpenden
ANDIE HARPER: Richard, we will try to find out for you.

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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?
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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 ?
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Tim Bick on the 2014 Draft Local Plan for Cambridge

10:09 Friday 14th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[S]UE DOUGAN: Last night Cambridge City councillors met to discuss the Local Plan, a fairly hefty document outlining the plans for the future development of the city. Despite hearing from objectors and receiving petitions, the Plan was passed, and will now be submitted to Government. So, what was decided, and what does it mean for the city? The Leader of the Cambridge City Council Tim Bick is with me now. Good morning Tim.
TIM BICK: Good morning.
SUE DOUGAN: The Local Plan was approved last night. So what’s the next stage?
TIM BICK: The next stage is that the approved Draft Plan goes to a planning inspector, a Government planing inspector, who will carry out hearings on the Plan, allowing again lots of people, developers, residents, traders, businesses, to put their point of view on the Plan over the summer. And we would hope to hear a response, a final response to our Plan by the end of the year.
SUE DOUGAN: Right. And now what key decisions were made in that Plan or about that Plan last night?
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Water Management Within Design

17:46 Tuesday 11th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The Met Office has calculated this to be the third wettest January since 1776. Goodness me! And yet more rain is forecast. The risk to homes and property has not yet gone away. One of the concerns being raised here in Cambridgeshire is whether future housing developments around the county will further increase the risk of flooding. Let’s bring in Robert Barker now. Hello Robert.
ROBERT BARKER: Hi there Chris.
CHRIS MANN: The Director of Baca Architecture. You’re designing projects with water management very much in mind. I don’t need to ask you about the debate on that really of course, because you’re an architect. You could find your way around I’m sure.
ROBERT BARKER: I’m comfortable with that one. Absolutely.
CHRIS MANN: Good. You got planning permission for a development in Norfolk that’s pretty novel. Tell us about it.
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Ed Murphy 2014 Budget Scrutiny

08:26 Tuesday 11th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Opposition councillors in Peterborough have spoken out at plans to cut services there. The authority has outlined plans for next year’s budget. We’ve talked about it many times. It includes cutting back on the money it gives to Children’s Centres and many other services. Labour councillor Ed Murphy was at the Council meeting last night. Ed, quite a heated debate was had over some of these cuts, wasn’t it?
ED MURPHY: Yes, it turned into an extremely interesting meeting. It wasn’t just the opposition councillors. Conservative councillors were questioning their budget as well. They were doing scrutiny. It was quite a good meeting, councillors doing their job for a change.
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Spare a Thought For The Environment Agency

An email received today:

[D]ear all

I thought you should all be aware that the Environment Agency is receiving some rather bad press at present and are being used as a political football.

Having lived by the Thames for my whole life and had dealings with the Environment Agency and its predecessor the Thames Conservancy as a boater and fisherman I can tell you they are one of the most efficient organisations I have ever dealt with. Their problem is that they have had numerous cuts in funding(the last a year ago being a one third cut).

The Drainage Boards which used to dredge the Thames and other rivers were disbanded around 20 years ago. The function but not the funding was handed to the Environment Agency at that time. The subject has been raised at many River User Groups Meetings I have attended over the last 10 years. The response has always been we have the equipment(which they inherited from the Drainage Boards) but not the funding to retain the manpower to do it. It is highly labour intensive!

I suspect the situation is exactly the same in Somerset though I believe the impact of dredging the 3 rivers crossing the Somerset levels would have much more of an impact as they are miniature compared with Old Father Thames!

Here are a few shots taken at my Club in Hampton Court and at Datchet which reflect the scale of the problem.

Yours ever

(images follow)

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