cllrkatie – Katie Thornburrow

Can Cambridge Grow to Be Happy?

On Friday May 15 I was at Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge to hear Peter Freeman talk about his work as chair of the Cambridge Growth Company

You can see the recording on YouTube and the slides on the GCP website, while Anthony Carpen has his usual excellent write up.

The event was called ‘Making Cambridge a Happy City’ and had been organised by the Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations to give Peter, appointed by the government to be chair of the Cambridge Growth Company, a chance to talk about his vision on issues like water, housing and infrastructure.

I was there to listen, not speak, because as a councillor responsible for the planning service I have many opportunities to make my voice heard.

It was really useful to be there and hear from Peter, but even more helpful to get a sense of the issues that concern people as they asked questions.

We want to work with the Cambridge Growth Company, and Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, to deliver a shared future vision for Greater Cambridge.

As we move forward to finalise the emerging local plan I know that meetings like this, and the wider public consultations we have planned, will be very important.

Thinking About Tomorrow’s Cambridge

Sunny spring weekends are a great time to take it easy and reflect on the year so far, with time to sit outside a favourite cafe or spend an evening in a great pub garden.

It’s been a busy year for me as a councillor, with lots of ward issues to resolve for residents, the local and mayoral elections, and of course many many conversations about the future of Cambridge City under emerging government plans for local government reorganisation.

Discussion about the future development of Greater Cambridge is going to get more intense in the coming year. It’s a challenging time, with lots of different bodies taking an interest in the city and what happens next and we expect to be talking to all the other groups involved, such as the Cambridge Growth Company.

For me the two things that have shone through are the commitment of everyone involved to do the best for Cambridge and those who live, work or study here, and understanding that we need to work together to come up with solutions, because no one group or person has all the right ideas.

It’s something that matters to every one of us, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts, explaining what’s happening, and pushing for Cambridge Labour’s vision of what local government should look like to deliver a city that is fair for all.

Shining A Light on Planning Issues

Imagine purchasing a new home, only to find that you are significantly restricted in how you can use your garden at night, or that you cannot alter windows for better ventilation. Plans to protect light-sensitive bats would have put residents of a new home proposed for Adams Road in Cambridge in this situation, and so the planning inspector dismissed an appeal against the Planning Committee’s refusal of the application.

Last week I heard that an appeal against a planning decision made by the Cambridge Planning Committee had been dismissed, and I want to explain why I think this was the correct decision and why it might help us preserve wildlife in future.

The story is a bit complicated, as there have been two planning applications, two refusals at the planning committee, and two appeals which were dismissed, but the essence of the issue is that an application was made to build a house close to the Adams Road Sanctuary, which is a County Wildlife Site and haven for birds, bats and amphibians.

Changes in Labour Group on Cambridge City Council

I will be sad to see Mike Davey step down as leader of the city council, and will greatly miss Alice Gilderdale and Sam Carling as they leave the council at the end of April.

Politics is about constant change, and I’m sure we’ll get excellent Labour city councillors to replace Alice and Sam after the by-elections on May 1, and I know that within the Labour group we will find the right people to replace Mike as leader and Alice as deputy leader.

But while they are all still here, I want to thank all three of them for being such great colleagues, such strong advocates for the people of Cambridge (and in Sam’s case, for his constituents in North West Cambridgeshire since his election to Parliament last July as part of Labour’s landslide), and such effective leaders.

I could not have achieved what I have without the support they have given my in my role as ward councillor and executive for planning, building control, and infrastructure, or on the many bodies that accumulate around a councillor’s role such as chairing the East West Rail Partnership and attending the Greater Cambridge Partnership.

I wish Alice all the best as she moves to London, will be watching Sam achieve great things in the House of Commons, and trust Mike gets to see victory after victory in the Habbin end of the Abbey stadium.

Cambridge Half Marathon 2025

On Sunday March 9th I’m running the Cambridge Half Marathon again and this year I’m raising funds for the vitally important Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, and you’ll spot me on the day in one of their t-shirts.

Update: And I’m done, after a long, hot sweaty run. And it’s not too late to sponsor me.

Redeveloping the Beehive Centre

Yesterday I spent six hours in Cambridge Guildhall with fellow members of the City Council planning committee discussing the application to redevelop the Beehive and make my decision on whether it should be approved.

However the shape of our discussion changed at the beginning of the meeting when a case officer told us that the application had been called in by the Secretary of State who will make the final decision.

It was explained that therefore the committee would not be able to make a decision but that we would listen to evidence, discuss the scheme and come to a ‘minded to’ decision, which means we get to tell the government that if it was up to us, this is what we’d decide.

We were also told that the evidence presented and debate we were taking part in were very important as they would part of the evidence presented during the call in process. The process itself could take several months.

At the end of our debate there was unanimous support for the ‘minded to’ recommendation to refuse the application, which supported the recommendation to refuse made by the case officer.

So at the moment we wait for a decision. In the meantime the application has not been approved and Railpen cannot proceed with the redevelopment. We hope that our detailed assessment of the evidence, our extensive discussion, and the final decision we made will have significant weight with the Secretary of State.

Links

The Planning Application

The Committee meeting (on YouTube)

What happens next -though it does start with ‘The content of this document is guidance only with no statutory status.’

Listen to a discussion with local residents on Dotty McLeod’s show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, starting at 07:47
 

A budget to welcome

I took some time out this afternoon to watch Rachel Reeves deliver her first budget, and as well as the sheer joy of seeing a Labour budget presented by our first Labour Chancellor, there was a lot to welcome.

I was really pleased to see compensation for those who have been waiting years for justice over the scandals around contaminated blood products and the Post Office Horizon computing system, along with funding to enable the removal of the sort of unsafe building cladding that led to the horror of Grenfell.

And we finally have a Covid Corruption Commission, and we may finally find out just how so much public money was wasted on failed health measures and unsuitable protective equipment.

Twice as Good…

I was lucky to move near St Matthew’s Piece in Petersfield in 2021, and was fascinated to see how much use single basketball net and single bench got used.

I really thought that it would be a neglected piece of outdoor equipment, but I was so wrong. The small square of tarmac, was used every day, by so many people – old, young, groups, individuals, families, school children… the list goes on.

But now, another pole and net, and another bench have been installed – well to be more precise, two new nets and two new benches, plus markings for basketball shooting.

It’s a joy to see how the space is used, often with different groups gathered around the two nets, or resting on the bench.

Thank you Cambridge City Council Open Spaces team for the great little space, which is being used so much and brings so much pleasure to everyone – even those of us who are watching rather than playing!

New proposed Mill Road Bridge Traffic Regulation Order (TRO)

[Update, 4 Sept: you may have seen the article in the Cambridge Independent today saying that I have asked for the TRO plan to be ‘halted until evidence can be shown of the impact on residents, businesss and active travel.’ I have not asked this, but do want to see data on the likely impact of the proposed TRO and for the County Council to consider it. This is not about halting the process but making sure we get the right outcome for everyone.]

A County Council decision in March 2023 to put a bus gate on Mill Road bridge under a Traffic Regulation Order was reversed after the Friends of Mill Road Bridge challenged the way that it had been processed, and instead of appealing that decision the council decided to start consultation about a new order.

The consultation is now open, and people have until Friday 13 September to make comments on the plan to close the bridge to all vehicles except buses, bicycles, emergency services, taxis, and blue badge holders. The details are online.

To me as a local city councillor and Petersfield resident this is a very important move, and one that could change the way Mill Road works as a centre of the life of Petersfield and Romsey wards. The City Council doesn’t get to make the decision here, but as a ward councillor I will always represent the views of residents and work to make sure that the steps the county council takes are the right ones.

I’ve had four different homes within Petersfield over the 38 years that I have been in Cambridge, and it’s a great place to live. But the ways we experience our neighbourhoods are significantly affected by how we choose to move around the streets, and as I walk, cycle and drive, I’m aware of the problems we face and the complex choices we must make as we try to improve our streets and open spaces.

Let’s talk about the Beehive Centre

In mid 2023 Railpen submitted an outline planning application for the redevelopment of the Beehive Centre, which backs onto several streets in Petersfield Ward. The proposed remodelling of the retail centre as a life sciences facility with offices and some retail was not well-received, particularly by residents of the streets affected.

Petersfield ward city councillors were also highly critical of the scheme. Mike Davey and Richard Robertson were especially concerned about the scale of the buildings, their height and the proportions, and particularly the impact on the view from the rear gardens of York Street.

There was a formal consultation to which many of you contributed, and Mike Davey and Richard Robertson continued to speak out and met representatives of Railpen.

Following the public response, Railpen is working on a revised scheme which they will then submit for planning approval. They have prepared one version of this, and they are now carrying out their own, private, pre-submission consultation as part of their community engagement.

We expect them to make a formal submission the council based on the results of the consultation, but what they submit could well be different from what is in the leaflets and presentations.

Until that happens your ward councillors are monitoring things, talking to residents and will meet the developers of they feel it’s necessary. I am a member of the planning committee and I can’t pre-judge applications which I then decide on, not because I don’t care but because there is a later stage where I need to be able to act in accordance with planning law and in the best interests of Cambridge.

The discussion about the future of the Beehive has been heated and sometimes angry. It is understandable that feelings run high over a major development like this, and as a City Council we are working hard to make sure that we listen to concerns and that the process for doing that is open and honest.

In March the Council published its statement of community engagement which includes how we will run planning consultations. At the time I said ‘it’s through a concerted effort by everyone involved in planning that we can work towards improved transparency and arrive at a place of mutual trust’. I still hold to these principles

It is vitally important that everyone knows how to influence development in our area and make their voice heard. That remains a central principle, when it comes to the Beehive or any other planning application.

If you want to know more, please get in touch.