Adi Mowles Remembers John Devaney

08:35 Wednesday 16th January 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: We’ve got Adi Mowles on the line, who’s the Chairman of the Posh Independent Supporters’ Association. John Devaney, what sort of a man was he?
ADI MOWLES: Well fundamentally he changed the Club. We’d been through some awful awful times previously to his arrival. If you imagine, we spent a million quid on a waste of space a few months ago, Tyrone Barnet. Well it was equally earth shattering when we spent £100,000 on a player. Dave Robbo (Robinson) came in. He turned out to be a complete legend for the Club. And Mr Devaney made that happen. Personally I’ve got some great memories of him. We were running The Peterborough Effect at the time, the fanzine, and fanzines, as they were meant to be, were quite controversial. So very often he’s come storming out of the ground at two o’clock on a match day, tell us that we couldn’t sell TPEs either in the Club shop or on the London Road property. So we would walk across to Britaly Travel, stand out there and sell them. And then Bernie, his lovely wife. would come out, buy 30 off us, take them into the Club shop and sell them, and said the silly old fool should know what the fans want. .. And they were just really funny together. Very nice bloke. .. He was a massive influence on the football club. ..
PAUL STAINTON: He was the man who appointed Chris Turner, wasn’t he?
ADI MOWLES: Oh absolutely. And they got on great. I think Turner thought the world of him. And let’s not forget, our most succesful ever place in the Football League was under Mr Devaney, and obviously under Son of God.
PAUL STAINTON: (LAUGHS)
ADI MOWLES: We were 8th or 9th in what is now the Championship. So yes, he’s got a great place in the history of Peterborough United Football Club. He might have a great place in the future of the football club, because his development company still own all the shops at the front of London Road. So watch this space.

=============

Cambridge Rented Sector – Council Targets Dodgy Landlords

08:20 Wednesday 16th January 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Cambridge City Council wants to get tough on rogue landlords, advertising for a Landlord Liaison Officer to inspect rented properties around the city. Decent salary, forty grand a year. It’s also looking to set up an empty homes office, with a further £40,000 from the Government’s new Homes Bonus. So how bad is the accommodation offered in Cambridge’s rented sector? Well Catherine Smart is Executive Councillor for Housing at Cambridge City Council. She’s with us this morning. Morning.
CATHERINE SMART: Good morning. Can I just correct one thing. £40,000 is what we’re putting into the budget. That wouldn’t be the salary, because of all the on-costs of employing somebody.
PAUL STAINTON: Alright. What is the salary? Continue reading “Cambridge Rented Sector – Council Targets Dodgy Landlords”

Marco Cereste Solar Newborough Look East Interview

18:30 Wednesday 9th January 2013
BBC Look East

PRESENTER: Coming up in the next 30 minutes, divisions tonight over solar power. Critics say it’s a criminal waste of good farmland. This Council boss says it’s a money-spinner for taxpayers. (TAPE)
MARCO CERESTE: In these really difficult times, initiatives that councils can come up with which will create income means that the taxpayer doesn’t have to put his or her hand in her pocket. .. (LIVE)
PRESENTER: Hello. The development of renewable energy in the region hit a big snag today, when council bosses clashed with farmers over plans for a large scale solar power plant in the countryside.
AMELIA REYNOLDS: The controversy blew up in Peterborough, where the Council has earmarked open land on the outskirts of the city to build three solar farms. It claims the development will provide cheap energy for years to come, but opponents have described the move as a criminal waste of rich farmland. Continue reading “Marco Cereste Solar Newborough Look East Interview”

And In The Blue Corner

17:27 Thursday 10th January 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: While I’m talking to you, let me ask you about another issue. Labour have published a list of 106 hit seats they say they’ll be trying to win. Yours is on it. Are you worried?
STEWART JACKSON: Do I sound worried Chris? (BEAT) Really, I understand the game. This is politics. They want to talk up their chances. But until they can put together a credible programme for government, including tax and spend, and until they’ve apologised for the debt millstone they bequeathed to the Coalition Government, they’re not going to be taken really seriously by the electorate. I’ve got a strong record, and will have, of ten years working as the local MP in Peterborough, not beholden to anyone, speaking my mind, as a proud Conservative but thinking for myself. And on that basis I think it will be close, but I’m not unduly worries. But good luck to the Labour Party.
CHRIS MANN: You say “as a proud Conservative.” But increasingly you’re a Conservative rebel. Is the stance you’re taking on certain things like Europe, is that key to you keeping the seat?
STEWART JACKSON: Well I think I’m in touch with the views of people in my constituency, on things like immigration, on crime, on Europe, on welfare. And sometimes you do have to speak the truth to power, and make yourself unpopular if you think you’re doing it for a principled .. and for the right reasons. And for those reasons in particular, I feel that people respect you for speaking your mind and being who you are, rather than just being another Identikit cut-out and keep politician, which I think people are fed up with.

============

Peterborough Renewables – Leaked Email Points To Planning Panic Over Tariff Deadline

07:07 Wednesday 9th January 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: There’s confusion this morning surrounding the consultation on plans to build solar panels on 900 acres of farmland near Peterborough, with claims that key documents are remaining undisclosed, and consultation dates are being changed. Around a dozen tenant farmers look to be affected, with some fearing they’ll lose their homes, but the City Council say they’re needed to make Peterborough energy self-sufficient. The public consultation into the plans closes on 1st February, but BBC Radio Cambridgeshire has seen a leaked email asking authorities and environmental bodies to give their views ahead of that deadline. It’s led local councillors and campaigners to believe the decision process is being rushed through, and isn’t fair and balanced. Continue reading “Peterborough Renewables – Leaked Email Points To Planning Panic Over Tariff Deadline”

Tory UKIP Pact?

17:15 Monday 7th January 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[S]TEWART JACKSON CONSERVATIVE MP: I’ve said directly to David Cameron and others that as a party, at the very least we need to have an in/out referendum, to give the people their voice, a voice they’ve not had for over 30 years, so that we do pay due attention to their views, and we do represent their views. And if it’s the people’s will that we remain part of the European Union, I will accept that. But let’s give the voice. And I will campaign for us to leave the European Union, to restore sovereignty and outright self-government. I should be working with UKIP to get that in/out referendum, rather than them .. this futile gesture of standing against someone like me who’s a Eurosceptic, helping the Labour Party, which is, as I say, madness.
CHRIS MANN: Working together, Lisa Duffy?
LISA DUFFY UKIP NATIONAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I would happily work with Stewart on an in/out referendum. Unfortunately I don’t believe Cameron will ever give us one, but I would certainly work cross party in getting that in/out referendum, and letting the people decide on our membership of the European Union. Definitely.

=========

Cambridge LibDems Under Pressure Over Missing Millions

17:07 Friday 4th January 2013
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: First this evening, Cambridge City Council has been accused of “losing” over £2 million. The Labour group in the city says that an external audit shows there is a £2.3 million budget shortfall. But the Liberal Democrats say no actual money has disappeared from the Council. Instead, the authority was led to believe it had more money to spend than it first thought. Cllr Tim Bick is the Leader of Cambridge City Council, and earlier today he spoke on this radio station. Continue reading “Cambridge LibDems Under Pressure Over Missing Millions”

Cambs Police Tsar Greatly Exercised By Cycling Offences

08:10 Friday 4th January 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[R]ONNIE BARBOUR: We’ve been talking .. you’ve mainly been talking about Sir Graham Bright’s initiative that the police should prioritise dangerous cyclists in the county. .. Let’s speak to Sir Graham Bright, who’s Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. First of all, we’re just wondering where this initiative came from. Were you getting a lot of emails and complaint letters from some of the people of Cambridgeshire?
SIR GRAHAM BRIGHT: The answer is yes. We’re looking at not just cycles, but anyone who fails to observe the law. I haven’t sort of suddenly made this up. The law is the law. I agree that there are motorists that need pulling in as well, particularly those that use mobile phones, and even text from mobile phones when they’re driving. But the cyclist .. because it’s Cambridge, Cambridge itself is a city where there are more cycles per head of population than any other city in the country. And obviously it’s something that concerns pedestrians. And yes, I’ve had a lot of people .. Continue reading “Cambs Police Tsar Greatly Exercised By Cycling Offences”