A report published this month by Oxford Economics has set out the potential economic benefits of the East West Rail project, not just for areas along the proposed route such as ours but also for the wider economy, and it makes a compelling case.
With the school year starting again for most schools across the Borough this week, I want to add my congratulations to students...
Not that we needed telling, as we all know it's true, but it's official: Bedford really is the most beautiful place in the Eastern region! Well, some might argue that winning top prize at the Anglia in Bloom awards does not confirm that there is nowhere as pretty as Bedford, but I think it is, and it is certainly nice that our attractive green spaces and local neighbourhoods have been recognised in this way. As I've always said, we're more concerned with ensuring that our neighbourhoods are attractive places to live and that residents can enjoy and take pride in them than with any prizes, but to have the quality of our green spaces and local environment acknowledged as the very best across the region is a testament to the work of volunteers, Council staff and of course local residents who look after their local area from day to day.
I wrote on here some months ago about reforms we've introduced to restrict the Council's ability to spy on local residents, and to ensure that it is accountable publicly for each and every use of the powers it has to conduct surveillance. The main features of the reforms were the restriction of the abilitiy to authorise the use of the powers to only the most senior officers (shortening the list of authorising officers considerably), and the introduction of a new requirement that every use of the powers by the Council must be reported to the public meetings of the Council's Executive four times a year. For the first time this has ensured public oversight of the Council's use of these powers, which have been dubbed a 'snooper's charter' for Councils after several instances of their excessive and unjustified use elsewhere. These have included the case of a council spying on parents incorrectly suspected of using a false address to get their child into a preferred school and numerous cases of councils spying on t
Tomorrow morning I'll be at the Harpur Centre to open the Bedford Poppy Shop. The Poppy Shop is of course staffed by volunteers, and gives you the chance to pop in, have a look inside and make a donation to the appeal, which supports the Royal British Legion's excellent work in providing welfare to those men and women who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces. The store can be found near Argos, so please do pop along over the next few weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday.
Now seems a good time to try to raise awareness of Bedford Borough Council's excellent 'Warmer Beds' home insulation Scheme. For a start, it's Energy Saving Week this week. It's also finally beginning to get colder after the 'Indian Summer'' experienced over recent weeks. Another key reason why I want to make sure as many local residents as possible know about this scheme and just how it can help households is the widely-reported rocketing cost of energy, which is only going to make it harder and harder for people to stay warm in their homes this winter.
