It was with shock and sadness that we learnt recently of the crass decision of the unelected quango, the IPC, to approve the plans to erect the MASSIVE Incinerator at Rookery Pit. Your local Liberal Democrat Councillors have been fighting long and hard to get these plans stopped along with many local residents and campaigners.
I know how anxious residents and businesses are for the major roadworks to reconstruct St Mary's Street to be completed as soon as possible, so I am pleased to report that work is progressing well. Those who have been using the road heading south will have noticed that the first section has been completed, with the single line of traffic now moved over to the newly reconstructed left hand side of the road (the surface work is not complete here; the whole road will be resurfaced together towards the end of the works period next month.) Work is now underway on the northbound side of the road, which is being excavated.
A new programme of 'Pints in the Parishes' events gets underway tomorrow night, at The Chequers pub in Wootton. These sessions are intended to provide an opportunity for me to hear directly from anyone who wants to discuss the issues important to them in an informal, local environment. They are also a chance for for me to show my support for local, community pubs. I will be in The Chequers from around 7.30pm.
I was utterly appalled by the news which came through on Thursday evening, as the the worst fears of local residents were confirmed with the announcement that the national quango 'The Infrastructure Planning Commission' had approved the application by US waste firm Covanta to build a mammoth, 600,000 tonne capacity incinerator at Rookery Pit near Stewartby. It is frankly sickening news for local residents in Stewartby and all communities nearby, who couldn't have been clearer in making clear to the IPC that local opposition to the oversized rubbish burner is absolutely overwhelming.
We're now in week three of the major roadworks to completely reconstruct St Mary's Street in Bedford. As I've written on here before, these emergency works are required after a survey showed the road to be in danger of collapsing. This was despite the fact that the road had been resurfaced just four years ago by the former County Council, which sadly failed to put drainage in place. The road is therefore having to be completely rebuilt, with the eight-week project beginning on October 3rd. The works are inevitably causing disruption to people, and we are all anxious for the project to be completed on time and to a high standard, in order that it doesn't have to be dug up again in the foreseeable future. I am pleased to report that the works are going well and despite the gas leak which caused the road to be closed completely for a few hours and stopped the work for a short while, it is on schedule so far. I must add that, while the works are causing some disruption, traffic is moving and you can get in and ar
The Village Tour 2012, or '60 in 30,' is now over, and I want to thank everyone who came out to speak to me at the 60 mobile surgeries across 60 villages in September's 30 days. The fact that so many residents talked to me to share their views on the important matters for our communities was very much appreciated, as was the welcome I received. A variety of weather conditions were experienced, and I am particularly grateful to those who braved wet and windy evenings or sweltering afternoons (we had both of these extremes, and plenty in between!) in the cause of taking the opportunity to talk to me directly while I was in the neighbourhood.
