Category: Peterborough

Rogue Landlords Out of Control in Peterborough

08:35 Wednesday 1st August 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: We’ve been looking at homeless people in the city this morning, and the state and squalor that some people are having to live in. A lack of affordable housing is to blame, and a lot of people are calling on the Council to offer more help to find a home. And the recent reduction in Government housing benefit hasn’t helped either. It’s seen a number of people, a growing number of people, struggle to find accommodation. It comes after yesterday’s announcement by SSentif that the number of households declared in need of emergency accommodation in England has risen by about 25% over just the past three years. And the East of England has seen the biggest rise as well. Earlier we heard from Darren Frith. (TAPE)
DARREN FRITH: I basically say to them, go round the properties that you’ve accredited, to all the landlords you’ve accredited, and look at their properties before you make people live in there really. It needs to start being regulated a lot tighter, because there’s a lot of rogue landlords in Peterborough, and all they want is the money, because they know the people are here and they want to live in the houses, and they’ve got no choices. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well earlier we heard from Sean Evans, the Housing Needs Manager at Peterborough City Council, who said they were looking at reintroducing the Accredited Landlord Scheme that they got rid of four years ago. And basically, now, they get a list of landlords from rightmove.co.uk, and just copy and paste them, and give them to people looking for housing. Well Rachael Orr is Campaigns Manager for Shelter. Continue reading “Rogue Landlords Out of Control in Peterborough”

Homelessness Reaching Middle Class Families in South Cambridgeshire

17:40 Tuesday 31st July 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

NICK FAIRBAIRN: There’s been a rise in the number of households needing emergency accommodation in the East of England. Date company SSentif has found that homelessness has risen by around 25% over the last three years, with the highest rise happening in this region.Cllr Mark Howell is the Cabinet Member for Housing at South Cambridgeshire District Council, and joins me in the studio now. Mark, have you seen a rise in homelessness in South Cambridgeshire? Has this been an upward trend? Continue reading “Homelessness Reaching Middle Class Families in South Cambridgeshire”

No Way Back for the High Street

07:26 Monday 30th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: We’ve all seen the shops closed on the high street. Clinton Cards going, Game going, and plenty of independents as well. Well now not only are they blaming the austere times that we’re living in, Adam Kirtley, they’re blaming the weather, aren’t they?
ADAM KIRTLEY: Well they’re blaming the weather in part. Julian Graves by the way is another one who’s just gone. I think that does, or did, wholefood, and that sort of thing. Now, 426 retailers went into insolvency in the second quarter of this year, and that’s up from 386 in the same period last year, so it’s 40 more, if you like, retailers have gone belly-up. Some of these will be very very small, some will be the big ones like Clinton Cards. Now the wash-out of the summer does appear to have exacerbated the problem, but I think Paul it would be unfair to blame it all on the weather. The bottom line is we’re just not shopping. Continue reading “No Way Back for the High Street”

Ed Murphy on Ethical Banking for Peterborough City Council

07:20 Friday 20th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridge

PAUL STAINTON: Does Peterborough City Council have a moral obligation when it comes to who it banks with? It’s recently been revealed the Council, like many others, is a customer of Barclays. Now the bank made the headlines of course after allegations of the rate-rigging scandal, bankers’ bonuses, and Bob Diamond doing this and that. One Labour councillor thinks the Council should review its banking arrangements. Ed Murphy is that councillor,and he’s here this morning. .. Why? Continue reading “Ed Murphy on Ethical Banking for Peterborough City Council”

Terry Rich – An Apology

08:08 Thursday 19th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: We’ve talked extensively this past week or so about this consultation on closing two care homes. Well, today, a new purpose-built care home should have been built in Peterborough a long-time ago. So says one Independent councillor in the city. The consultation on the possible closure of these two care homes has already begun, and the Independent Party in Peterborough are putting forward quite a few suggestions. Earlier councillor Charlie Swift suggested building a new home that would house residents of both Greenwood and Welland House. He told us there are plenty of sites around the city available to build on. Continue reading “Terry Rich – An Apology”

Longest Serving Councillor on How To Run a Council

07:06 Thursday 19th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

INDEPENDENT CLLR. CHARLES SWIFT: If they’d announced they were going to build a new home for a kick-off, there would have been none of this kerfuffle whatsoever. It’s all totally unnecessary. What they should have done, if, and there’s a big if attached to this, if Greenwood House and Welland were not fit for purpose, they should have got on with announcing that they were going to build a new home, so that everybody’s got security of tenancy, and also the staff have got some job satisfaction, and they’ve got something to look forward to. It’s been very badly handled, and it’s all wrong. Continue reading “Longest Serving Councillor on How To Run a Council”

Paul Bullen UKIP for Police Commissioner

08:35 Wednesday 18th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: A magistrate is to stand for election to become the Police and Crime Commissioner in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Paul Bullen, who sits at Huntingdon Magistrates Court, has been announced as the UKIP candidate for the election in November. We can talk to him now. .. Why? Why are you standing?
PAUL BULLEN: We as a party, as you probably know, do not believe that we need Police and Crime Commissioners. We believe in an elected authority, or committee, to oversee the running of the police.
PAUL STAINTON: Well that’s a bit silly then, isn’t it? There’s no point standing. Continue reading “Paul Bullen UKIP for Police Commissioner”

Ofcom Delay on 4G Decision

17:40 Friday 13th July 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: The Government is coming under increasing pressure to make a decision on the future of the next generation of mobile technology, 4G. It’s been claimed that it’s introduction could create 125,000 jobs, stimulate the economy by over £5.5 billion, and contribute half a per cent to national GDP by the end of the decade. But still, 10% of the Uk population doesn’t even receive any type of fast broadband at all, many of them, of course, in rural Cambridgeshire. Well earlier, Uk tech. journalist Michael Brook joined me to explain more. Continue reading “Ofcom Delay on 4G Decision”