750 More Trees by the Riverside
Work started last weekend on a new programme of tree planting which is seeing 750 new trees planted alongside the River Great...
24 Feb 2011
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Exciting Riverside Regeneration for Bedford Town Centre
Following my visit to see survey work underway on site in preparation for construction of the western bypass earlier in the week, this week brings a number of further exciting developments for Bedford. Notable amongst those is the formal approval of the release of land for the exciting redevelopment of the area on the north side of the river in Bedford, from the site of the current Town Hall office block all the way along to, and including, the current Riverside surface car park.
3 Mar 2011
Ridding the Borough of Useless Street Clutter!
Today I launched our campaign to rid Bedford Borough's streets of useless street clutter. Unnecessary road signs, railings and bollards that are cluttering our local streets are firmly in our sights. As you travel around the Borough, you see a number of road signs which serve no useful purpose. They clutter up the local environment and can even cause a hazard themselves due to their bulk and the obstruction they can cause for pedestrians. These signs are unwanted and unnecessary, as is some of the other 'street furniture' we have which it seems no-one ever asked for and nobody knows why it was installed in the first place! However, unless the Council makes a positive effort to work with residents and parish councils to identify these items and remove them, they can end up long outstaying their welcome and remain in their useless place for years. So we're making that positive effort.
22 Mar 2011
Stepping in to Protect Rural Bus Services from Cuts Made Elsewhere!
As you have probably heard through the national media, a lot of Councils across the country are slashing their support for bus services, with rural routes in particular under severe threat. By contrast, here in Bedford Borough, where most rural routes are subsidised by the Council, we are working to protect residents' access to services and even improve them where possible. In the urban area, where services are run commercially by Stagecoach from Monday to Saturday, we have introduced a new Sunday service which mirrors the routes which run for the rest of the week and offers a vast improvement on the confusing, little-used routes which ran previously. With the rural buses, a range of difficulties have arisen due to the cuts of neighbouring authorities to their support for cross-boundary services. However, thanks to our extensive consultation with rural bus users and our close work with the bus operators, I'm pleased to say that we are doing all that we possibly can to make sure local residents don't miss out
30 Mar 2011
Reasons to be Cheerful About Bedford Borough and its Future
I wrote recently in my regular column in the Times and Citizen about how, while we have obviously been working hard to protect...
18 Apr 2011
Central Beds Must Rethink and Say No to Stewartby Incinerator after Covanta Shortlisting
Many local residents will have been shocked by the story in last week's Times an d Citizen, which revealed that the Conservatives in charge of Central Bedfordshire Council have shortlisted US waste giant Covanta's bid for a mammoth 600,000-tonne capacity incinerator near Stewartby amongst their potential long-term waste partners. There are 6 firms on their shortlist, which will be reduced further in the next few weeks. The Tories' move is the latest in a long campaign by the party in support of an incinerator at Rookery Pit near Stewartby. First, the former Conservative County Council pursued plans for its own incinerator there, and then Conservatives in Buckinghamshire previously selected Covanta's project as the preferred option for Bucks waste. Now Central Beds Conservatives could be about to give the biggest boost they possibly could to the appalling prospect of the incinerator being built. I am calling on the Conservatives to listen to the broad-based campaign of local residents, which even the local Con
21 Apr 2011