Uncategorized – 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
 

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.

Six years as a councillor

Six years ago today, I got elected as a Labour City Councillor by 4 votes. I’ve been re-elected twice but 4th May 2018 will always be a special memory.

Since then I have worked with the most amazing group of dedicated socialists. Without a doubt we have achieved more than we might have achieved alone.

We continue to build the most energy efficient Council homes in the country, run the services with care and our finances remain robust even as the decade of Tory austerity continues to grind down local government. We plant more trees and provide more open, green space in our beautiful city.

Yet the future challenges remain daunting.

We have just re-elected all our re-standing councillors. Residents have reaffirmed their choice of a Labour administration for Cambridge City.

I love being a local politician. I value the trust given by residents immensely. I love having a cup of tea with people, or a beer, a walk around or community event, planting trees and trying to protect parks. The small things makes a big difference but working to make those really hard, big, strategic decisions with our communities is part of our responsibility too.

I’ll do everything thing I can for a brighter, clearer future, for all of us, even as we have dark, storm clouds swirling around.

All around the world…

Last Friday (March 21) I published a post here about the City Council’s decision to issue an enforcement notice telling the owners of Charter House to remove the controversial statue of Prince Philip known as ‘the Don’.

I thought people would want to know that the statue, generally considered to be rather ugly, and installed on Hills Road without planning permission, was going.

It turns out people did want to know- several million of them, by my reckoning.

After Gemma Gardner picked up the story for the Cambridge Independent, quoting me from my blog it went up on their website, with a link, and my husband noticed that it had made the main section of the Guardian.

I then received calls and messages from the BBC’s culture reporter Noor Nanji. Even though I was in the City Council Planning Committee I headed over to the site during our lunch break and recorded an interview which was then broadcast on the Six O’Clock news on BBC One and on Radio Four.

After planning I had a look online, to find that this small story about an unwanted statue had spread around the world. There were dozens of reports, in the New York Times, ITV, Time magazine, even GB News (!), and they all quoted me. Many linked to this blog, which has seen more traffic in the last day than it had all year.

I’ve had relatives in Switzerland, old teachers from Hong Kong, and friends from around the world tell me they’ve spotted me.

And there’s been a lot on social media – perhaps my favourite was Ruth Dyermond who saw the story and said “One of the amazing things about the Prince Philip statue story is the discovery the Cambridge council has standards for public art. This will be a surprise to everyone who lives here“.

We do, Ruth, and we try to enforce them. I’m an architect and the state of public spaces really matters to me and to the council. In fact, we’re currently working on getting rid of some other unwanted pieces of art – keep an eye out for action.

(of course not everyone is happy.. it’s nice to be officially labelled a ‘woke leftie’ by the Daily Mail).

Coverage so far

And on Reddit..

‘Worst-ever’ Prince Philip statue must be torn down, orders council
byu/FlabbyShabby inunitedkingdom

We need honesty in campaigns

As we head towards the local elections on May 2nd it is important that campaigning is honest and truthful. Unfortunately we’re already seeing examples of misleading statements and even completely false claims.

For example, in their latest desperate attempt to persuade people that they have any idea how to run the country, the Tories have decided to frighten people about council plans to improve neighbourhoods by managing traffic flows, making false claims about imminent road closures or other measures.

This includes sending out misleading leaflets designed to worry people who might fear that ambulances or fire engines could be delayed or that barriers could appear without consultation, which is not the case.

The leaflet plays on the fact that the city council, like every other local authority, has a duty to decide which roads in its area are part of the country’s ‘primary route network’ and which are local roads intended for local traffic. What it doesn’t point out is that this has been the policy since 2012, when the Tories were in power, and that it’s also covered by the Cambridgeshire Local Transport Plan passed by a Tory administration in 2014. The Tories are trying to stir up fears about the application of their own policies.

But making false claims, causing unnecessary worries, and denying their own policies seem to be all the Tories are capable of as they limp towards a General Election they are too frightened to call.

It gets worse. We all know that their campaign, including these expensively printed leaflets, benefits from millions of pounds raised from people like Frank Hester, who even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admits has made racist comments about Diane Abbot MP.

The Tories have nothing to offer Cambridge, locally or nationally.