Today is the deadline for responding to Bedford Borough Council's consultation on a proposed new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle street drinking and related anti-social behaviour in Bedford town centre area. This PSPO would give the Police and authorised officers powers to enforce against people breaking it.
Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats have launched the campaign to Save Bedford's Post Offices after the closure hitlist for the local area was revealed thanks to an internet blunder. Local Lib Dems have obtained a map published briefly on the post office website by mistake which appears to show that seven branches are identified for closure in Bedford Borough as part of the government's plans to close 2,500 post offices nationwide. This news comes in spite of the fact that the closure plan for Bedfordshire is not due to be announced formally until July 2008, with a "public consultation" to follow before closures are confirmed.
Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are demanding that real powers are put in the hands of local communities under a new Bedford Borough Unitary Authority. The Lib Dems are calling for a radical overhaul of democracy in the Borough to ensure that local residents have genuine power over local matters.
Mayor Dave Hodgson recently visited Bedford Commerical Park to meet with Goodman Group to see the latest phase of development .
At Wednesday's Full Council Meeting Finance Portfolio Holder Councillor Michael Headley outlined the plan to reduce the council's funding gap this year. The plan sets out the measures that are already being taken to balance the budget in the face of unprecedented financial challenges that are impacting local authorities across the country. After years of Conservative government cuts to local government, councils (like all residents) are facing record high inflation, soaring energy prices and stagnant economic growth.
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
