Category: Conversations

UKIP Peterborough Field Ten Candidates

08:22 Thursday 28th April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Now UKIP could pick up their first ever Council seat in Peterborough in the coming local elections. They’ve got the third highest number of candidates in the city with ten. One of them is Robin Talbot, UKIP candidate for the Orton Longueville ward. Good morning Robin.
ROBIN TALBOT: Good morning to you.
PAUL STAINTON: Confident?
ROBIN TALBOT: Very confident. Very very confident indeed. Yes.
PAUL STAINTON: Why is that? Continue reading “UKIP Peterborough Field Ten Candidates”

The Future of Peterborough

08:06 Wednesday 27th April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: A bit of a spat has broken out. Not-for-profit organisation Growborough is being criticised for treading on the toes of another organisation, by launching an advertising campaign to attract new businesses to Peterborough. Publicly funded economic development company Opportunity Peterborough, you may have heard them on the show yesterday, launched a similar strategy in London just a few months ago. We talked about it having the name tag on taxis and billboards and everything else. Well Rowen Squibb is from Growborough. Morning Rowen.
ROWEN SQUIBB: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: What is going on here? We have Opportunity Peterborough, who up until probably I would say a year ago we were some of their fiercest critics. They didn’t really do the job properly, according to lots and lots of people. Nothing really got delivered. But they appear to be doing the job now. They appear to be doing what they said on the tin. Continue reading “The Future of Peterborough”

Tesco Bristol Riot- Local Traders Reaction

08:15 Tuesday 26th April 2011
Mid-Morning Show
BBC Radio Bristol

GRAHAM TORRINGTON: A meeting’s being held in Bristol this morning to discuss the future of the Tesco’s store on Cheltenham Road, after Friday’s violence closed the shop. Other shopkeepers and residents in the area are assessing the damage. Cath Archer runs the Bristolian Cafe on Picton Street, and joins me right now. So Cath, paint the picture for me where you are right now. Continue reading “Tesco Bristol Riot- Local Traders Reaction”

Only the Best Will Do

07:09 Wednesday 20th April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: A number of local councillors have complained at the decision to spend £15,000 of taxpayers’ money on hiring a new location for this year’s local election counts. Traditionally counts are held at the Town Hall, but this year Peterborough City Council are hiring the East of England Showground’s Executive Suite. City Council say the Town Hall isn’t big enough for the count, and two thirds of the bill is paid for by the Government, and not by the Council. Councillor Nick Sandford is from the Liberal Democrat group on the Council. Good morning. Continue reading “Only the Best Will Do”

Feral Youth in Fletton- Peterborough Police Response

17:04 Tuesday 19th April 2011
Drivetime BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY BURROWS: Problems seemingly then in the Fletton area of Peterborough today. .. Some people living near the Fellowes Gardens area of the city claim they feel unable to leave their homes because of anti-social behaviour. A group of youths are being blamed, with residents saying they’re out drinking every evening, and being abusive in some cases. This is what a couple of the residents told our reporter Samantha Appleby. Continue reading “Feral Youth in Fletton- Peterborough Police Response”

Stagg at Bay – MPs Want Answers

08:07 Tuesday 12th April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Now the MP for Peterborough says he doesn’t believe the amount of money being spent on salaries by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is sustainable. Stewart Jackson is joining two other Cambridgeshire MPs in calling for a review of how the county’s fire service spends its money. He’ll be meeting the Chief Fire Officer Graham Stagg to discuss the matter later today, with a couple of other MPs. He explained earlier his concerns. (TAPE)
STEWART JACKSON: When we’re all being told that we’ve got to tighten our belts and reduce public expenditure across a lot of areas, to learn, for instance, that this fire service, which serves 750,000 people, has four members of staff on £600,000 between them, has six people in their media and communications department, including a full-time web co-ordinator, a design and communications officer, a full-time PR officer, and a media and communications assistant, that they are spending £128,000 on car allowances for the coming year, for instance, and that they’re spending for instance £300,000 this year on new laptops and desktop computers, these are figures which would cause eyebrows to be raised in a very good benign year, but given the circumstances we’re in financially, I just don’t think they’re sustainable. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well that’s MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson. I’m pleased to say we can speak to the county’s Chief Fire Officer Graham Stagg now. Morning Graham.
GRAHAM STAGG: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: It feels like and seems like, from what Stewart was saying, that there’s an air of profligacy at the top of the fire service in Cambridgeshire. Continue reading “Stagg at Bay – MPs Want Answers”

Cereste Pleads Ignorance and Blames Others for Purdah Breach

08:06 Monday 11th April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: The English Democrats have accused the ruling Conservative Party of electioneering ahead of next month’s local elections. It follows the news on Friday that Stanground College and Orton Longueville Schools would share £34 million pounds for major rebuilding works. Jonathan Lewis from the City Council broke the news on the show. (TAPE)
JONATHAN LEWIS: When we started the Building Schools for the Future programme, we put aside £40 million to support the overall building of the school, assuming then Government funding was coming on top. We still have around £34 million of that money left, and now we feel is the right time to start the build work with the money we have, and an expectation that there will still be money from Government, and you know, we’re fairly confident we will get something. But we want to get on. We want to transform the schools. And we want to make a difference. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: However, Opposition parties have questioned whether this announcement should have been made at such a politically sensitive time. Earlier, we heard from Councillor Stephen Goldspink. He’s standing in Stanground Central ward for the English Democrats. (TAPE)
STEPHEN GOLDSPINK: They’ve known about this money being in the budget since back in February, when it was published. They were apparently going to spend £73 million on the schools. Now they’re only going to spend £34 million, and hope they get some Government money on top. But why announce it now? They’ve known all about this for a long long time, and there was no reason to announce it right in the middle of an election period. It came from the schools, but it also came from the Education Department. You’ve spoken to Jon Lewis. And they rang up the schools, told them the news last Wednesday, because I checked with the schools. They could have said to the schools, keep this to yourselves please. It’s an election period, and there’s a convention that we do not make major announcements during election periods. They didn’t do that. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: We also heard from the Labour candidate Chris York in the first hour of the show. Also standing in Stanground central, John Swallow for the Independents, and Marco Cereste for the Conservatives, Leader of Peterborough City Council, who joins me now. Morning Marco. Continue reading “Cereste Pleads Ignorance and Blames Others for Purdah Breach”

Plaque Attack by Metal Thieves in Priestgate

08:24 Friday 1st April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Something is wrong on Priestgate. .. Brass plaques displaying the names of businesses in Priestgate have just disappeared into thin air. Our reporter Miss Kerry Devine has been down Priestgate to see what’s going on. She started by talking to Carol from Priestgate Business Centre. Continue reading “Plaque Attack by Metal Thieves in Priestgate”