Liberal Democrat Andy Gerard has been elected as the new Councillor for Kingsbrook Ward. He achieved an emphatic victory in yesterday's by-election, with Labour and the Tories a long way back in second and third place respectively. The Liberal Democrats' share of the vote increased, while on a dreadful night for the Conservatives, their vote share fell by 7.5%.
Radical plans have been launched to overhaul the tax system and benefit the people of Bedford and Kempston.
Mayor of Bedford Borough Dave Hodgson has announced the launch of the Council's Climate Change fund, a radical move to fund projects which will cut CO2 emissions in the Borough and protect the environment. The fund, which will be open to applications early in the new year, will be launched with an initial £100,000, with the scheme set to grow in future years. It will help organisations including schools, community groups and the council itself undertake capital projects which will have a real impact on protecting the local and wider environment.
Mayor Dave Hodgson launched Bedford Borough's first 'Meet the Buyer' event, where small local firms got the chance to meet buyers from nine major local organisations, at the Barns Hotel in Bedford last week. The event was designed to give small local firms, who do not usually have access to major buyers, the chance to develop contacts and seek to develop potentially lucrative relationships with the larger organisations.
Mayor Dave Hodgson will be at the Church Lane Neighbourhood Centre on Monday to mark the start of work on phase one of the redevelopment of the site. The developers Coplan Estates were appointed by the Borough Council in 2006, and local Liberal Democrat Ward Councillors from Goldington and Putnoe have pressed for the much-needed development to go ahead. Now phase one of the development, which will see a new food store and car parking at the site, is getting underway.
A Bedford Borough Council clean-up operation has seen 40 tons of leaves cleared from the streets over recent weeks, with the leaves being composted, rather than sent to landfill, for the first time following the intervention of Mayor Dave Hodgson.
