My Pledges to You
With the Mayoral election approaching fast on May 5th, I have set out my pledges to local residents, as follows:
11 Apr 2011
News
Coming Soon to Bedford: Electric Car Plug-In Charging Posts
In addition to our efforts over recent weeks to protect rural bus routes and prevent the cuts of neighbouring Conservative-run councils from damaging cross-boundary services, we have been working hard on another significant feature of our ongoing campaign to support sustainable transport in Bedford Borough, with exciting results. We have helped to lead a successful bid which is bringing in nearly £3 million to the Eastern region for electric car charging points. We will therefore shortly be installing four charging posts as part of a first wave of eight posts, with two plug-in points on each, in public places around Bedford. Even better, we have agreement that the electricity for these will be provided free of charge by renewable energy providers Ecotricity. So, as electric cars become more widely available over the coming months and years, local residents will be well placed to take advantage of the electric car revolution.
6 Apr 2011
Stepping in to Protect Rural Bus Services from Cuts Made Elsewhere!
As you have probably heard through the national media, a lot of Councils across the country are slashing their support for bus services, with rural routes in particular under severe threat. By contrast, here in Bedford Borough, where most rural routes are subsidised by the Council, we are working to protect residents' access to services and even improve them where possible. In the urban area, where services are run commercially by Stagecoach from Monday to Saturday, we have introduced a new Sunday service which mirrors the routes which run for the rest of the week and offers a vast improvement on the confusing, little-used routes which ran previously. With the rural buses, a range of difficulties have arisen due to the cuts of neighbouring authorities to their support for cross-boundary services. However, thanks to our extensive consultation with rural bus users and our close work with the bus operators, I'm pleased to say that we are doing all that we possibly can to make sure local residents don't miss out
30 Mar 2011
COUNCIL STEPS IN TO CONTINUE RURAL BUS SERVICES
Bedford Borough Council has announced it will step in to continue two rural bus services.
29 Mar 2011
Pulling Together for the Bedford Rowing and Watersports Lake!
On Wednesday this week I attended the formal start of landscaping for the Bedford Rowing and Watersports Lake. In fact, I even had the honour of planting the first tree! The vent was held to mark not only the start of the landscaping, but also the fact that the Bedford River Valley Park enabling development for the Rowing and Watersports Lake is now in the Council's draft Allocations and Designations Plan. The fact that the land is now on course to be allocated for the enabling development, which will feature an extended campus and sports facilities for the University of Bedfordshire and much-needed extra-care retirement homes, is a major step towards the delivery of the lake.
26 Mar 2011
Cutting Council Carbon by 40%... While saving taxpayers £8 million!
This week saw the launch of the Council's Carbon Management Plan. That doesn't sound very exciting, I know. However, it sets out how the Council is going to cut its carbon emissions by a massive 40% by March 2015, and save taxpayers £8 million! If you ask me, that really is something to shout about. In fact, by the end of the 5 year programme, the ongoing saving to the Council through this plan, which has been produced in partnership with the Carbon Trust, will be almost £1.5 million.
25 Mar 2011