Mayor Dave Hodgson's latest monthly column for the Times and Citizen looked at the dramatic fall in unemployment revealed by the latest figures for Bedford Borough, including a 46% drop in jobseeker's allowance claimants since February last year. Here's the piece in full:
New NHS data reveals the shocking increase in ambulance wait times for residents in Bedfordshire. Ambulance services are now at breaking point as wait times for ambulances responding to life threatening situations increase by 20% since 2019. Wait times for the next most serious category of calls have increased by 40% over the same time.
The next phase of the Local Plan 2040 consultation has started and Bedford Borough Council wants to hear from you.
The latest weekly coronavirus statistics for Bedford Borough have been published. Presented once again in easy-to-read infographic form, the figures show that in the seven days up to November 1st:
From 23 July to 1 August, it's the Keep Britain Tidy Love Parks Week 2021, and the Council is celebrating all things parks!
Before setting out on the village tour trail on Saturday, I went along to the final Rivercare event of 2011. Rivercare events are run by the Coucil, and are open to anyone to come along and help improve the riverside environment in Bedford. Saturday's 'Green and Arty River Clean Up' concentrated on the area near Aspects and Longholme Way. In addition to the usual litter pick, a mural was also painted in the underpass which links Aspects to the embankment, while the railings were also repainted. My talents were best suited to repainting the railings, as you can see from the photo! It was really enjoyable to work alongside the numerous local volunteers young and old who gave up their Saturday morning to make a positive difference to our shared riverside environment. I want to say thanks once again to all those who came out and got stuck in. They provided an example of real community spirit in action, in common with all of those people across Bedford Borough who take care of their local environment .
