Category: Peterborough

Shaun Fricker on University Entrance, Life Skills and Citizenship in the Curriculum

08:20 Thursday 18th August 2011
Peterborough Brealfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY GALL: Let’s speak to Shaun Fricker, Head of Sixth Form at Jack Hunt School. Good morning to you Shaun.
SHAUN FRICKER: Morning.
ANDY GALL: What a morning! Well done. Full of the joys of autumn. Are you as nervous as many of your students Shaun?
SHAUN FRICKER: We always are, every year.
ANDY GALL: Right. Why are you nervous though? Your job’s done now. You should feel OK, yeah we’ve done our .. Continue reading “Shaun Fricker on University Entrance, Life Skills and Citizenship in the Curriculum”

Alconbury Enterprise Zone is Excellent News for Peterborough

07:12 Wednesday 17 August 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY GALL: Neil Darwin is Director of Economic Development at Opportunity Peterborough, and can speak to us now. Good morning Neil.
NEIL DARWIN: Good morning Andy.
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ANDY GALL: Alconbury have been chosen as the Enterprise Zone by the Government.
NEIL DARWIN: Indeed.
ANDY GALL: Peterborough did apply but wasn’t selected.
NEIL DARWIN: That’s right.
ANDY GALL: Your thoughts this morning?
NEIL DARWIN: We’re really pleased. The important thing was we got an Enterprise Zone in the area, and it’s fantastic news that we have indeed got one. The important thing is that having Alconbury deisgnated means that it’s good for Peterborough, irrespective.
ANDY GALL: Does it mean though that because Enterprise Zones in the ’80s, when they came about, they were sort of blue-chip companies would be drawn to them, but then they became sort of employment blackspots.
NEIL DARWIN: Indeed. It’s a very interesting policy line the Government have taken. Some of them did work in the ’80s. Some of them failed miserably. And again, what the Government have done this time is say that they’re going to focus on growth, growth-focused areas. What they mean by that is they’re going to put them in places like Alconbury, rather than in the middle of Blackburn or Burnley or places of that ilk.
ANDY GALL: But what kind of industry is it going to attract in the current climate?
NEIL DARWIN: At the moment we’ve been talking to Urban & Civic who own the site down there. They’re very keen to try and attract overseas business to the area. And there’s still plenty of demand for that, around some of the modern technologies that are coming forward. So biotech and all those sorts of things. So it’ll be interesting. From a Peterborough perspective it will be very interesting to see how it takes off. And actually the important thing for Peterborough residents is actually having, as Urban & Civic have described in the proposal, up to 6,000, 7,000 jobs. It’s having those jobs on the doorstep, because it’s actually very commutable from Peterborough. So there’s a real win-win there, in terms of having jobs on the doorstep.

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A Severe Case of Boardroom Bloat at NHS Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

07:33 Monday 16th August 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY GALL: More on the ongoing GP surgeries consultation at NHS Peterborough. The Primary Care Trust is looking at closing and expanding certain surgeries, as it looks to save money. Well one set of campaigners angry at the possible closure of Alma Road surgery say other bigger Trusts in places like Manchester and Liverpool only have 6 or 7 Executive Directors, but NHS Peterborough have 12. We can speak now to Geoff Catlin who is one of those campaigners. Good morning Geoff.
GEOFF CATLIN: Good morning Andy.
ANDY GALL: So why do you think NHS Peterborough has too many directors? Continue reading “A Severe Case of Boardroom Bloat at NHS Peterborough and Cambridgeshire”

New Toys for Peterborough Councillors

08:07 Monday 15th August 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY GALL: First it was free iPads. Now Cabinet Members at Peterborough City Council are being offered free iPhones. The Peterborough Liberal Democrat councillors have criticised the idea, saying it’s not appropriate in the current climate. It’s thought that the handsets cost around £500. Earlier we spoke to Cllr Darren Fower, and he said that the Cabinet Members should be leading by example. (TAPE)
DARREN FOWER: Cost is a major factor in today’s world. We’ve also got this situation where up until recently in the last couple of years Cabinet Members have benefited from free Blackberries. And if you look at some of these individuals, they’re not poor. They have got a lot of money about themselves anyway, and I think really as senior members of the Council they need to be looking to lead by example. And like you say, securing these items that are about £500 a pop, times that by the number of councillors, that’s a lot of money being spent. (LIVE)
ANDY GALL: Now we were hoping to speak to Cllr David Seaton, the man in charge of this area, but he’s unavailable, but we’ve been sent a more than capable replacement, Cllr Matthew Dalton, Cabinet Member for Communications at Peterborough City Council. He joins us now. Good morning Matthew.
MATTHEW DALTON: Good morning Andy.
ANDY GALL: So thank you for coming in. Now could these iPhones make you a saving then? Continue reading “New Toys for Peterborough Councillors”

Paul Stainton’s Indepth Analysis and Solution to the Problem of the Youth of Today

07:40 Tuesday 9th August 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: I’m just amazed that so many of these kids have got a Blackberry, 40% of them. It just, you know, it destroys their claims that they’re broke, and they’re skint, and they’ve got no money. It absolutely destroys it. Because, you know, you’re not broke if you’ve got a Blackberry, are you? You’re broke if you can’t afford to eat. You’re poor if you’ve got no carpets on your floor. Is it time, you know .. we’ve got the youth on the streets. They’re angry. They’re disillusioned they say. They’re full of pent up energy. Is it time to have a real discussion now about bringing back National Service? Is it now time to put a uniform on these kids? If they get arrested, that’s where they go. Ship them off to Afghanistan. If they want to fight, there’s fighting going on there. There’s kids their age defending this country. Whilst they’re burning stuff on the streets, kids their age are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Art at Andronicas

07:55 Thursday 4th August 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Next week artists in Peterborough are going to be showing off their art in a cafe. Andronicas at Peterborough Garden Park will open its doors to the public to show off artwork for the very first time. Rene Viner is the curator and artist. Good morning.
RENE VINER: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Now what exactly is going on then? Are people coming down there to make their art? Are they bringing down their old modelling wheels? Or are they just bringing the finished article along? Continue reading “Art at Andronicas”

Peter Boizot on the Broadway Theatre

08:06 Wednesday 3rd August 2011

Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Peterborough entrepreneur Peter Boizot has been speaking about his disappointment over the Broadway Theatre fiasco. Mr Boizot bought the theatre in the late 1990’s, when it was under threat of demolition. He later sold it to its current owner, but says he had hoped it would be more succesful. Suzie Roberts went to speak to Peter at his home in Peterborough, where she asked him about his earliest memories of the Broadway Theatre. Continue reading “Peter Boizot on the Broadway Theatre”

Peterborough Trees Under Threat from Council

07:22 Thursday 28th July 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Council officials announced proposals to remove a third of the trees on Bridge Street in the city centre. The idea is currently open to consultation, but not everyone is impressed. Joining us now is Cllr Nick Sandford, Leader of the Peterborough Liberal Democrats. Morning Nick.
NICK SANDFORD: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: To tree or not to tree, why are we even asking this question?
NICK SANDFORD: Well I think we should be saying, to tree, because you’ve got to bear in mind Peterborough has got the smallest level of tree cover of the entire country, and you need to bear in mind that although we’re going through a cool spell of weather at the moment, the predictions are that we’re going to get much hotter summers, and trees provide a massive range of benefits. And so we shouldn’t be taking out a third of the trees in Bridge Street, when they’re not really causing any harm. Continue reading “Peterborough Trees Under Threat from Council”