Get Along to the Bedford Italian Festival Today!

Armed Forces Day Ceremony

I was honoured to host a flag raising ceremony at Borough Hall yesterday to mark Armed Forces Day, which is approaching on Saturday. Armed Forces Day helps to raise public awareness of the contribution made by those who serve and have served in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and gives us an opportunity to show our support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community, from currently serving troops to Service families and from veterans to cadets. We are therefore always very keen to help mark the occasion, and conducted a flag raising ceremony outside Borough Hall, and the Armed Forces Day Union Flag will be flying here all week. There were a number of representatives of local armed services units and veterans' organisations in attendance, and the standard bearers were impeccable as always.

Lantmannen Bakery Now Open

I was delighted to join Thomas Boden, Chairman of Lantmannen Group, in opening Lantmannen Unibake's major new bakery at Cambridge Road, to the South of Bedford. We have worked closely with the company since we were first alerted that they were seeking a location for expansion, and it's fantastic that the plant which will create up to 300 new jobs is now up and running. In fact, Lantmannen had originally wanted to locate the new bakery inMilton Keynes, where they have an exiting plant, but after they were unable to secure planning permission at a particular site there, Bedford Borough Council moved quickly to support them in finding a suitable site and creating jobs and economic growth here.

Good Housekeeping! Council Comes in Within Budget

I chaired a meeting of the Council's Executive at Borough Hall on Wednesday night where, amongst a range of matters including the Council's use of surveillance powers, the Borough's Community Safety Strategy and the outcome of petitions over the past year, we considered a report which confirmed that the Council came in at 1.6% within its agreed budget for 2010/11. This is obviously very important news, as putting together a balanced budget is only half the job; staying within that budget is vital. Any overspend can be extremely costly for local taxpayers, and that is why it is essential that sound financial management is in place to control spending. We took effective, swift action to deal with the inevitable pressures and unforeseen challenges that came our way. This week's news is a testament to the work that went in all year round to keep Council spending on track from everyone involved, from Finance Portfolio holder Cllr Michael Headley and Cabinet colleagues to staff across the organisation for their wor

A Yellow and Blue Shop, and a Pink Pedalo!

You could describe the latter part of this week as a colourful one for me. First, on Thursday morning at 7.45am, I cut the ribbon at the newly refurbished Lidl store on Lurke Street. Despite the early hour, there were plenty of shoppers in attendance, keen to check out the revamped store. It's always welcome when chain stores invest in their Bedford premises - it shows a commitment to trading in the Borough and is evidence that they know that it's in businesses' interests to invest in Bedford. Then, on Friday morning, I went along to support a charity event in aid of an appeal to raise funds for an anesthetising machine for Great Ormond Street children's hospital. The appeal is being supported by the Town and City pub chain, which includes the Litten Tree and the Rose in Bedford, and managers from the Litten Tree are taking part in this event. As well as being an extremely worthy cause, this charity event is remarkable for the fact that it involves a pink pedalo being powered from Town Bridge in Bedford all t

Riverside North Selection Jury Meets

I chaired the all-party selection jury for the Riverside North developer at Borough Hall on Wednesday, as we received presentations from short-listed developers. The Riverside North project will be a mixed use retail, leisure and residential project encompassing the area currently occupied by the Town Hall Office Block, the neighbouring Riverside House building and Horne Lane Car Park. The developers outlined the site's potential and their credentials for delivering the project. The jurors' scores are being collated before an announcement on the selected development partner for the project is announced in the coming week. I must emphasise that the decision to be taken next week following the presentations is to select a developer, not a final scheme. Once the appointment is made, extensive public consultation will follow to ensure that residents are able to have their say as the plans for the development take shape. Indeed, a commitment to real engagement with local residents is something we were very keen to