This week, Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership is running a 'Week of Action' in the Midland Road and Tavistock Street areas.
The Council wants to know what local residents think about its proposed 'Capital Programme'. This sets out how the Council invests money on schemes and projects to improve Bedford Borough.
I have written before about the financial challenge facing Bedford Borough Council, but as consultation begins on the first set of proposals to modernise Council services and make them more cost-effective, it is worth considering the figures involved in order to really grasp the full scale of that challenge. Bedford Borough Council has to save £36 million over four years in order to balance the books. That's an awful lot of money by any reckoning, but the fact that it represents over a quarter of the Council's current total net budget of £129 million brings the size of the task ahead into even greater focus (the bar chart on the right provides a graphical illustration). There is no escaping this; the Council is legally required to deliver a balanced budget, and cannot make a policy decision not to make all the savings, for example. What we can do, however, is to work with all parties on the Council, with staff and crucially with residents to make sure the savings are made carefully and in the fairest way poss
Mayor Dave Hodgson has insisted that if Theresa May's claim that 'austerity is over' means anything at all, the Tory Government must use its forthcoming budget to change course dramatically over its plans to continue with massive, punishing cuts for local services.
During this year's Community Energy Fortnight Bedford Borough Council have been reminding local organisations about the Mayor's Climate Change Fund, which can provide up to 50% match funding for improvements that reduce carbon emissions & energy costs of community buildings in Bedford Borough.
Bedford Borough Council has been awarded £163,943 as part of the Government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.
