Category: Peterborough

Peterborough Council resists online access to public meetings.

07:07 Thursday 24th July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: So the big question this morning: how do we get you more interested in local politics? Or is it just boring and you feel you’ve got no say and you can never be interested? Well in the last few years we’ve had the fallout from the MPs expenses scandal, Russell Brand urging people to abandon modern-day politics, and an increase in people using local elections to just send a message to Westminster. In some areas of the county like Hampton in Peterborough, only a 24% turnout at the last election. One councillor in Peterborough thinks he’s got the answer to all this. He thinks council meetings should be streamed online. It’s something that Cambridgeshire County Council have just started doing. Well Cllr. Darren Fower put forward the idea at the Full Council meeting last night. Darren, good morning.
DARREN FOWER: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: And what was the response?
DARREN FOWER: I suppose the simple response, the term would be negative, narrow-minded, short-sighted. Yes, they didn’t really go with it.
PAUL STAINTON: Oh. Right. So they thought it was a bad idea. Why did they say they didn’t want people wanting council meetings?
DARREN FOWER: It’s not necessarily a new concept. The Liberal Democrats have been putting this forward for at least six or seven years. About five years ago my colleague Cllr. Sandford, he put forward a motion that was actually accepted, to look at a similar sort of set-up. And surprise, surprise, five years later nothing’s happened. We got told that they were thinking about the idea, but the bottom line is the people of Peterborough, they deserve to see how things actually work within the chamber. And my belief is if it was streamed live, you might find that there’s a different result when it comes to local elections.
PAUL STAINTON: You think it might open people’s eyes a little bit as to what goes on and how people behave.
DARREN FOWER: Absolutely. Absolutely. Again last night we had some very narrow-minded views and comments. We know that times are tough, but the bottom-line is they spend so much money on generating bits of paper, and the people of Peterborough should be entitled, or have at least have the opportunity to log on, watch and dare I say even vote on certain things that are being discussed. And then if they decide to leave they can. But yes, I’m afraid I personally think that we’ve still got a city council that doesn’t want people to see the truth, and they prefer to try and control the news that comes out of Town Hall.
PAUL STAINTON: Or is it just the fact that they’re not very photogenic.
DARREN FOWER: (LAUGHS) Well I for one have never been photogenic, so that’s not a factor that I take into account.
PAUL STAINTON: Well I’ll back you up there.
DARREN FOWER: I know you will. But it is one of those things whereby even from the news point of view, from journalists, from the work that you guys do, you’re coming into our county, you need to be able to access. In today’s modern world, it is 2014 after all, and you should be able to go somewhere now, and people who are waking up this morning, getting ready to go to work, should be able to either listen into something, or go somewhere and see actually what really happened. Because unfortunately we have a city council that does generate minutes, but surprise surprise some things are often omitted.
PAUL STAINTON: Would it be interesting though? Wouldn’t people be bored? Some of it’s dull as ditch water, isn’t it?
DARREN FOWER: Yes, and there is that political strategy that does occur whereby techniques are used to either dismiss people that are being discussed .. but the bottom line is the City Council has a very very important job. It’s there to represent the people of Peterborough. And quite simply if the people of Peterborough want to tune in and see what’s being said, as I say, even if it’s just for fifteen, twenty minutes, it doesn’t have to be the three hours, they should be entitled to.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. Richard Taylor is with us as well. He’s an activist. He films and promotes local politics in Cambridge. You’ve tried to film meetings in the past. You’ve got yourself in a bit of hot water from time to time as well, haven’t you?
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Preserving Peterborough’s past during rampant development

17:37 Wednesday 23rd July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Proposals to build 350 homes on the site of the former Peterborough District Hospital have been given the go-ahead. They also include plans for a new primary school, which will be incorporated into the building of the historic War Memorial wing. So, how important is it for new developments to include some of the area’s local history? Let’s find out from a couple of people who’ve got an interest in this. Peter Lee is Chairman of the Peterborough Civic Society. Hello Pete.
PETER LEE: Hello. Good evening.
CHRIS MANN: And Trevor Pearce is the Chairman of the Peterborough Local History Society. Hi Trevor.
TREVOR PEARCE: Good evening Chris.
CHRIS MANN: So how important is the memorial Wing in your view?
TREVOR PEARCE: I think very. I’m delighted it’s been saved, and the fact that it’s going to be incorporated into that school. We’ve lost too many of these Chris already. Your listeners will no doubt remember the original post office that was in Cumbergate, and on the front of that was a fantastic war memorial. What happened to that I have no idea. I guess it just got smashed when they built Queensgate. And there’s others that have gone missing round the city.
CHRIS MANN: Do you think they’d actually do that with a war memorial? They would just smash it up?
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Technology No Substitute for a Council Workforce

07:42 Friday 11th July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: The latest app. taking the county by storm is the My Peterborough app. It was launched earlier this week. The idea behind it is the public can use the app. to report problems like potholes, rubbish or missed bin collections. Well Johnny D. was one of the first people to use it. He reported that someone had dumped rubbish on Norwood Lane in the city. So how fast is the app.? Has the rubbish been cleared away within 48 hours? Well Johnny D. has been back to Norwood Lane this morning.
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Peterborough LibDems – Cereste on Trial

08:20 Tuesday 17th June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: So it was a busy old AGM at Peterborough City Council last night. As we mentioned earlier, Marco Cereste is still the Leader. One of the other big announcements to come out of it last night was the Council voted unanimously in favour of following in Cambridgeshire County Council’s footsteps and looking into switching to the committee system. It’s an idea that’s been championed by the LibDem Group. Nick Sandford is their Leader. Nick. morning.
NICK SANDFORD: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: We’ll get onto that in a moment, but first of all many people unhappy with you this morning for siding with Marco Cereste. Why did you?
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Peterborough Labour Let Tories Off the Hook

07:07 Tuesday 17th June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Our main story this morning, one of Cambridgeshire’s biggest political characters, Marco Cereste, has survived a challenge to his leadership and will remain Leader of Peterborough City Council until at least next year. It’s after the Council’s Annual General Meeting last night. A motion to oust him as Leader was voted down by 32 votes to 14. 10 councillors chose to abstain. The result means he remains as Leader, but without overall control. It was also agreed the Council will explore the possibility of switching to a committee system, and that a cross-party working group will discuss next years Budget, and that councillor David Over will be Mayor for next year. Ben Stephenson was at the Town Hall last night.
BEN STEPHENSON: Peterborough’s Town Hall won’t have seen many escapes as great as this one. A few weeks ago Marco Cereste had lost overall control of the Council, and his critics were predicting the end for the Tory general. But last night he made a miraculous escape that even Steve McQueen would have been proud of. The first motion put forward by the Peterborough Independent Forum spoke of a need to remove Marco as Leader. Three Tory rebels agreed, but Labour and the LibDems were not for turning. They said a minority party coalition wouldn’t work, meaning victory for councillor Cereste, and another term as Leader, albeit without the overall control he’s enjoyed in years gone by. The Council also agreed to explore the pros and cons of switching to a committee system a la Cambridgeshire County Council, a move that the LibDems will count as a post-election victory. But what now for Marco and his Tory colleagues? He may have survived another scare, but the anti-Cereste brigade are still insisting that last month’s election result was a clear signal of discontent from the Peterborough public. The question now is whether that message has been received at Tory HQ, or whether the need to balance the books next year will once again put pressure on Marco and his Cabinet.
PAUL STAINTON: Ben Stephenson at the Town Hall in Peterborough last night. So after weeks of uncertainty, Marco Cereste remains as Leader of Peterborough City Council, and he did it with support from his apparent opposition, the LibDems and Labour. Well before we hear from the Labour Group, let’s speak to councillor Mike Fletcher from the Peterborough Independent Forum. He put forward a motion that the Forum’s Leader David Harrington should replace Marco. As it turned out, that was never heard. Mike good morning.
MIKE FLETCHER: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: Now, your reaction?
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The Man who Fed on Weakness

08:23 Monday 16th June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: It’s a big night for Peterborough tonight. The City Council will appoint a Leader of the Council at its AGM tonight. The Leadership has been up in the air since those local elections in May, where the ruling Conservative group forfeited overall control after losing seats to UKIP. Speaking after the results, Conservative councillor for Eye and Thorney David Sanders called on the Tory Leader Marco Cereste to resign.
(TAPE)
DAVID SANDERS: It leaves the Conservatives very vulnerable indeed. I believe that at this stage Marco should consider his position and do the honourable thing and resign, and allow a new leader with new vision, new ideas, new focus and vision, and take the Council and Conservatives forward.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Councillor Cereste reacted angrily to suggestions he should step aside. He told this show that he’d carry on as Leader, and the city would crumble to the ground if the Tories weren’t in charge. Here he is speaking to Chris Mann last week.
(TAPE)
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Nazim Khan – the Labour Party and Peterborough City Council

17:37 Wednesday 11th June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[N]ICK FAIRBAIRN: The Labour Group on Peterborough City Council has decided not to oppose the election of Conservative Marco Cereste as Council Leader. The Conservatives lost their overall control of the Council in the recent local elections, opening the opportunity for a leadership contest. Labour have just 12 seats on the Council, compared to Tories 28, but one Labour councillor feels they’ve given up without a fight. John Knowles has left the party, and will now serve the Paston ward as an Independent councillor. Earlier Mr Knowles said he’s disappointed with the Labour Group under their current Leader Nazim Khan.
(TAPE)
JOHN KNOWLES: I’m Labour. I don’t know what Mr Khan is. Only Mr Khan knows that, together with a number of other people in the Labour Group. I’ve not left the Labour Party. I’ve had to resign from the Labour Party, because I’ve resigned from a non-functioning so-called Labour Group.
(LIVE)
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Well Nazim Khan joins us on the line. Now Mr Khan, some stinging words there from John Knowles. What’s your response to what he had to say?
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Richard Olive and Ray Manning on Recycling in Cambridgeshire

08:07 Monday 2nd June 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: We’re talking recycling this morning, and good news and bad news. The good news, we are recycling more. Bad news, not doing it right. The Government says more and more contaminating items are finding their way into our recycling bins, meaning more waste is in the end having to go to landfill. It can cost us all money as well. Councils can get paid for waste they recycle, but have to pay to put rubbish in the land. Steve Emington spoke to me earlier from letsrecycle.com, and he explained why he thinks there’s such a problem with it.
(TAPE)
STEVE EMINGTON: 90% of people get it pretty much right. But then you do get householders sometimes who might put the odd curry in, or children’s nappy, stuff which you really wouldn’t logically put into recycling. And that’s more likely to be the problem. We’re all rushing around, busy lives and the like. So it might be easier to put the wrong thing in the bin one day, just absent minded or don’t necessarily know. It could be a call for more education perhaps. Sometimes the message doesn’t get through, people don’t understand. It’s not always easy.
PAUL STAINTON: Sue says: “The tightening of council budgets hasn’t helped either.”
STEVE EMINGTON: It’s back to economics. At the moment councils with their financial pressures, recycling is getting hot on two fronts. One green waste, because some people have got huge gardens and they’re trying to get money back for the service; and secondly the councils have got less money for education, so you won’t be getting as many leaflets through the door, or publicity campaigns to actually help you, tell you what can be recycled.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well Ray Manning is the Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, the county with the highest rates of recycling in Cambridgeshire. Ray, good morning.
RAY MANNING: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: So what can everybody else learn from you do you think?
RAY MANNING: Well I think we are doing well. You’ve already said we’re the highest and we’re in the top ten. We’re doing very well. I heard the point about more education and yes, that’s the answer. But I think that we publish something every month in every issue of our magazine, and also our people go out and talk to schools, because they’re the next generation as well. People with children will know that you get told, hang on a minute mum, or hang on dad, you shouldn’t be doing that. They tend to be more vigilant than we are.
PAUL STAINTON: But it is part of the problem also that it’s not universal, is it? Some people have got their black bin, the green bin, the grey bin, the brown bin. Then we’ve got different systems for how we do it. How do you do it? Explain how your bin sorting works in South Cambridgeshire.
RAY MANNING: We’ve got the three. We’ve got the black bin for all refuse. We’ve got the blue bin for the recycling, and the green bin which is for the organic waste.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. So it’s all different, isn’t it, from everywhere else you see. Is that part of the problem, with people got used to one particular system, one colour co-ordinated system? It might help, mightn’t it?
RAY MANNING: It probably would, but you can’t do that now, because the cost would be enormous. Huntingdon District Council have got different coloured bins to us. To scrap and recycle the bins I think .., Anyway it doesn’t take very long. How often do you move house? It’s not actually a monthly occurrence.
PAUL STAINTON: So what happens to your blue bin waste then?
RAY MANNING: We try and recycle the two. The most important thing to us is that we’ve got this paper caddy in the top of our blue one, because if we keep the really good quality paper separate we get so much more money for it. So I think that’s one of the things that has been most successful in South Cambs., the actual keeping of paper separate. Although in the green it can be recovered, it’s very cheap in just bulk. We reckon it’s about another £200,000 a year is possible from keeping the paper separate.
PAUL STAINTON: What do you make to this comment from David Harvey. who said, “The councils should do it all. It shouldn’t be up to individuals. Why? Because it’s more cost-effective. Bulk separation is cheaper than us doing it, creates more jobs. Most importantly saves water. Cleaning yoghurt pots etcetera we end up spending all that money on excess water.” So it should be up to councils to do all the separating, and we’ll leave you to it.
RAY MANNING: Well yes, obviously that’s a way of looking at things. But quite honestly I can’t agree with that. It takes, what, a couple of spoonfuls of water to rinse out a pot and have it done and things like that. If it’s already partially sorted it means it’s far easier at the other end. Yes, you could go back to a system of all black and then trying to sort it out, but your earlier speaker was saying about how you get things perhaps contaminated with nappies and stuff like this. Surely it is better to have a system whereby it’s roughly sorted beforehand.
PAUL STAINTON: Of course one part of Cambridgeshire where rules around recycling have recently changed is Peterborough, where the City Council has decided to charge people to have their brown garden waste bins collected. A lot of people very unhappy with that. Richard Olive is a member of Peterborough Friends of the Earth. Is that a good move from Peterborough City Council Richard in your opinion? .. Is Peterborough wise to do what it’s done? Continue reading “Richard Olive and Ray Manning on Recycling in Cambridgeshire”