Author Archives: Simeon Jackson

Protected: Planning

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Why do some people have disposable income, but others don’t?

Conventional economics would probably say that this is largely due to a disparity of incomes. Those with higher incomes than what is required to cover their expenses in a given locality will have a higher disposable income than those on lower wages. But let’s say that we assume that we are assuming two households with […]

What I wrote in May

So it turns out that I haven’t wrote as much as I intended in May. I don’t think this is entirely surprising. I had a lot of other things I wanted to put my time into, and writing for half an hour day just seemed like an additional burden which I didn’t really need in […]

2nd May – Planning A Fantasy World – #MayWriteABit

What have fantasy worlds got to say about our planning and architectural industries?

1st May – What I May Write – #MayWriteABit

Inspired by Rob Bryer, I’ve decided to accept the challenge and, during the month of May this year, attempt to write for half an hour each day.

Consultation Response: Affordable Housing

My response to Norwich City Council’s consultation on Affordable Housing SPD.

My submission to the Anglia Square PGN consultation

My comments on the Anglia Square Policy Guidance Note

Aristocrates

Aristocrates has been my online alter ego ever since my first ever email address, but what is the story behind me selecting that name, and what has it come to mean to me now?

Speech against Devolution – 28th June 2016

In this speech, I focus on just one of my concerns – this agreement’s focus on businesses and growth rather than quality of life for residents.

Brand(ed) as a politician

Russell Brand scared that he would become “one of them”.

Norwich Against Tax Dodging

Thanks to all those who wrote to councillors recently, calling on us to support ActionAid’s Towns Against Tax Dodging campaign. I’m pleased to say that Norwich is with you, and last night passed a motion to support the campaign.

My Endorsement: Vote Green in the Euros

Although we’ve been hearing a lot about the Europe “in-out” debate in the last few weeks, we much less frequently hear about the political balance of Europe. The Green Party are within the fourth biggest parliamentary grouping in Europe. As hard-working and collaborative MEPs, Greens really do get results.

Another subprime mortgage crisis waiting to happen?

A criticism of the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme (LAMS) in Norwich.

Speech on Castle Mall 5th December 2013

“Sustainable Development”? I’ll let you be the judge.

Planning Committee – 10th October 2013

This post summarises my participation in October’s planning committee meeting on Thursday 10th October.

Full Council – 24th September 2013

September’s full council meeting was quite a big one for me. The Green Party were putting three motions, one of which I was proposing, as well as numerous questions. The full agenda (including motion texts) can be found here. I heard the Lord Mayor’s announcements and voted to agree the minutes of the last meeting. […]

No payday loan advertising on Council property, please

At the Norwich City Council meeting of 24th September 2013, I proposed a motion as follows: Council RESOLVES to ask the cabinet, where the law so allows, not to :- (1)  permit council assets or facilities to be used for advertising by ‘payday loan’ companies; or (2)  use external facilities where ‘payday loan’ companies are […]

Planning Committee – 12th September 2013

This post summarises my participation in September’s planning committee meeting on Thursday 12th September.

Norwich Early Evening Events

I like Norwich’s outdoor events. I recently enjoyed activities put on as part of a programme of activities called ‘Head Out Not Home’ being coordinated by Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) to promote Norwich’s early evening economy. But do these activities really achieve the intended aim? What else might be done?

Planning Committee – 25th July 2013

This post summarises my participation in planning committee on Thursday 25th July 2013.

Full Council – 23rd July 2013

July’s full council meeting was a fairly short agenda (although due to long discussions took quite a long time!). This post summarises my participation.

My first speech at Full Council

Last night I made my first major speech at Full City Council, as I seconded a motion proposed by fellow Green City Councillor Ash Haynes. The motion was subsequently carried.

Briefing: Monetary Reform

This article is intended as a briefing for those who want to know more about monetary reform. In a later post, I will touch upon the relevance of monetary reform to local currencies and the effect on the local economy. Why do we need monetary reform? It has been clear over the past few years […]

Chain Consuming or Systems Thinking?

The biggest news story in recent weeks seems to have been the collapse of high street chains HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster. But are the responses taken by big business and government the right ones? What happens when we take a more holistic view?

Icicles

Here are a few photos of icicles that I thought looked pretty beautiful.

Funding change

Why is funding social movements and protection of the environment such a problem? We have so much that needs to be done, but why can’t we get the money to do it? How are young unemployed people going to get money for doing the things they are passionate about?

Review: You are not a gadget

There are two things which seem to get criticised even more than the weather these days, and they are politics and computer technology. I’ll save political criticism for a later post, and today address the latter. It’s quite easy as a young person to be quick to defend the merits of IT. For someone who […]

New Years Resolution: New Blog Posts Every Monday

Dear dedicated followers, I hereby announce that, as of tomorrow, I will try to publish a new blog post every Monday. Although there may be exceptions (I won’t fail the entire resolution if I miss the odd one due to illness, or some other unforeseen eventuality), I hope that I will generally keep up the […]

Bonuses for purchasing?

When banks make a loan, they are actually buying your promise to pay back that loan at a future date. So doesn’t this make paying bonuses based on the number of loans negotiated like rewarding someone for spending as much money as they can? Yes!

Transition Computer Games

Ever since the Transition Conference, I’ve been meaning to write a post about it.  Well, here’s one, and perhaps there will be more later! During open space on the Saturday afternoon of the Transition Network Conference, I was a bit of a butterfly and attended several sessions which caught my interest, without settling down for […]