Ahead of next week's Executive Meeting, several new project proposals have been announced to further reduce the council's carbon emissions. The proposals set out funding for more solar panels on council buildings, new electric council vehicles, providing the charging infrastructure in the depot for the council's switch to electric vehicles as well as increasing tree planting.
As was widely-reported earlier this month, Bedford Borough Conservatives sadly broke their pledge to cast aside party politics and deliver a joint budget for the benefit of local residents, and instead didn't even vote on the most important decision the Council takes. This was extremely disappointing as, as I've said many times before, the extraordinarily tough times we are in require everyone to work together to get the best for our borough. My monthly column in last week's Times and Citizen newspaper was on the subject of the difficult financial climate and the need to stand up to the challenges we face, and if you haven't seen it yet, the article follows below:
Last night an overview and scrutiny committee received an update on some of the key priorities of the Bedford Rail Strategy:
From Thursday 29 December to Tuesday 10 January, there will be eight Christmas tree recycling sites across Bedford Borough. People can drop off real Christmas trees at any time. They will be collected by council staff and recycled at GBRS Ltd.
It was a very constructive meeting with Michael Gove this morning. Clearly we didn't expect to get any answers on how much capital funding will be forthcoming for schools in the Borough this morning, but we were very glad of the opportunity to make the case for investment in our schools. We discussed the context of the cancelled Building Schools for the Future programme and what that has meant in Bedford Borough, the specific case of the Bedford Academy (which will be replacing John Bunyan Upper School from September) and its plans, the current accommodation for our special schools and the wider issues around education in the Borough.
Are you a graduate who wants to make a difference in your local community and excel in your career? The National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) has opened its recruitment drive for a new cohort and Bedford Borough Council is looking to hire graduates who live or study in the Borough.
