The Castle Quay development is set to welcome its first restaurant, with one of the three units in this attractive area having been let. The 'Riverside Grill' will open in the summer, and I was delighted to welcome representatives there this week.
I am delighted to have been elected as the first Chair of the new Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Consortium. Following the sterling work of the volunteer-run Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterways Trust in taking the project to a stage beyond the capabilities of a charitable trust, I am looking forward to working with the ten other partners who join Bedford Borough Council in working jointly to take make further progress.
The Bedford Kite Festival was visited by over 40,000 people last weekend - a record turnout. I was there on Saturday and spent time talking to kite flyers, stall holders and residents who had come down to enjoy the wonderful array of kites. Unfortunately the conditions on Saturday were not helpful to kite-flying, but that didn't seem to be hampering anyone's ability to enjoy themselves.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presents itself tomorrow, as the world class Kenyan athletes who have been here in Bedford this week taking part in a range of community activities give local residents the chance to 'Run With the Stars.'
I am very concerned by the plans to merge Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Police Forces. As will be even more evident after today's emergency budget, tough decisions lie ahead for all public sector organisations, including the police, and Bedford Borough residents could lose out if those decisions are taken more remotely.
In these incredibly difficult economic times, residents rightly expect the Council to do all it can to keep Council tax bills down while protecting front line services. That has been my key priority since being elected as Mayor in October last year, and this week Finance Portfolio Holder Michael Headley announced our aim to freeze Council tax next year. This will be an extremely tough task, but after years of inflation-busting tax rises and poor services under the Conservative County Council, local residents deserve better.
