Category: Peterborough

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?
Continue reading “Cambs Budget 2014 – The Opposition Responds”

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.
Continue reading “Ed Murphy 2014 Budget Scrutiny”

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)

Continue reading “Spare a Thought For The Environment Agency”

Sheila Scott on Closing Peterborough’s Children’s Centres

18:42 Thursday 6th February 2014
BBC Look East West

[A]MELIA REYNOLDS: A group of mothers who are fighting to save their local children’s centres want their campaign to become a national one. Some SureStart centres are facing closure in Peterborough and across Cambridgeshire, as councils say budget cuts mean they need to target the most needy. It comes as the Education Minister visited the region today.
(FILM)
EMMA BAUGH: Angela Brennan in Peterborough with son James. She says families are turning campaigners over the threatened closures.
Continue reading “Sheila Scott on Closing Peterborough’s Children’s Centres”

Many Unhappy With Peterborough’s Cabinet Style Government

09:08 Tuesday 4th February 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Parents in Peterborough say they will not take the decision to close eight children’s centres lying down. Members of the City Council’s Cabinet yesterday approved plans for the change of use of eight centres, and to set up four new hub centres and three new outreach hubs. .. On the line now is Angela Brennan from the campaign group Save Peterborough’s Children’s Centres. Angela, morning.
ANGELA BRENNAN: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Are the Council thinking about children here, or they just thinking about cash?
ANGELA BRENNAN: No they’re definitely not. In fact the decision to vote yesterday wasn’t even a vote. It was led. Basically it’s given us the impression that it was done in the pre-meeting at nine a.m. It was cold, quick, with no emotion.
PAUL STAINTON: Now we were told that there were wide-reaching consultations here. There were worries about this, and the Council said they were listening. Did they listen?
ANGELA BRENNAN: The Council haven’t listened to anything the public said. There’s 2,000 petition names saying what the public want. Scrutiny and the Full Council advised them to read that they needed to explore more options, and defer the decisions, but they still ignored them both. What does it say? It says they don’t care about the people. They care about the money.
PAUL STAINTON: Is this democracy in action?
ANGELA BRENNAN: There was no democratic action there. It was just one person leading the whole lot. It’s being bullied.

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Ed Murphy On The Hospital Site

07:25 Thursday 30th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Now, people of Peterborough, you’ve got your first glimpse of the plans to develop the old PDH site on Thorpe Road. It’s looked like a bit of an eye-sore the last couple of years. That big old bit of land on the left hand side as you drive into the city. The fences have been up, the windows have been smashed, the weeds have grown 65 foot tall. So what are we going to get in place of that? Well a public display of the developer’s initial plans for the site was held yesterday at the Great Northern Hotel. Labour city councillor for Ravensthorpe Ed Murphy was there. Ed, morning.
ED MURPHY: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Were you excited by the plans for what has essentially been a bit of an eye-sore for the last two or three years? Was it something that excited you Ed? You went to the Great Northern yesterday Ed. What did you make of what you saw? Continue reading “Ed Murphy On The Hospital Site”

Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes

07:08 Tuesday 28th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: They’ve got the land. They need to make money to balance the books. So should Cambridgeshire County Council set up its own property development company? It’s an idea that will be discussed by councillors today, and the Council say it would generate income, at the same time as helping meet the urgent need for new homes. Well let’s hear now from Ashley Walsh, who’s the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Resources on Cambridgeshire County Council. Morning Ashley. Good idea or bad idea?
ASHLEY WALSH: I think it’s a good idea. I have families in my division in Cambridge who can’t afford to live and help their children live in the city they grew up in. There’s a massive housing crisis in Cambridge, and we need to build social housing. You said earlier that why did we ever stop building social housing. Well I’m glad to see the County Council and Tories on the County Council accepting the need to build more social housing.
PAUL STAINTON: Why did we stop building social housing? I grew up in a council house, pit houses in Yorkshire. That was de rigeur. Remind us why we stopped.
Continue reading “Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes”

Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite

10:35 Monday 27th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: Cambridge and Peterborough appear to be booming. But is it a different story in the Fens? Many of you have been in touch to have your say this morning. Last year there was a summit of local politicians, looking for a long term solution for flooding which closes the road at Welney year after year. Now villagers say the waters are getting higher and lasting for longer. New electronic signs were going to be fitted by Norfolk County Council, but the flooding has even stopped this happening. Karl Rands is Area Highways Manager for the west of Norfolk County Council. Karl, good morning to you.
KARL RANDS: Good morning to you.
ANDIE HARPER: It is a difficult place in many many ways, isn’t it, Welney, because it’s so very much on the borderlands , isn’t it?
KARL RANDS: Indeed, yes it is. It is a difficult location, obviously, because The Wash is there, which does cause residents and drivers a problem when it floods the carriageway.
ANDIE HARPER: And of course we have the two counties meeting, and so there are always issues there. As long as I’ve been doing this programme, and it’s a long time now Karl, around this time of the year we keep telling people that the Wash Road at Welney is closed, and all the usual diversions are in place. Surely to goodness there is something that could be done about it, long term.
Continue reading “Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite”