Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats

Bedford Borough Council's Executive this week approved the 'Local Plan Review - Issues & Options' paper for consultation this summer. The consultation will gather views on the strategy to guide housing and employment growth in Bedford Borough and identify the infrastructure needed to support it.

Today, Saturday 27th July is Armed Forces Day, and although the usual annual celebrations have not been possible in Bedford town centre, the Armed Forces Flag has been flying at Borough Hall and Mayor Dave Hodgson has recorded a video message of thanks.

In it, he also talks about how impressed he and so many others are by the parade each year, and how he looks forward to its return next year.

Bedford Borough Council's Executive this week discussed a Council report which set out the massive financial impact of coronavirus, with an expected financial gap of £32.6millon over the next two years.

The impact of coronavirus has affected services across the Council, placing them under unprecedented pressure working to deliver care for the vulnerable, elderly and shielded, including through the Community Hub, while keeping vital day-to-day operations running in challenging circumstances.

In March, the Local Government Secretary said "The government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to support councils in their response to coronavirus"

Bedford Borough Council is now facing a funding gap of £32.6m over two years.

The scale of this challenge is unprecedented, and we still need to deliver care for the elderly, support vulnerable children and to continue to protect our libraries and improve our streets and pavements amongst many other services.

The Bedford Town Centre Plan, which sets out a vision based on Bedford being a great place to live, work, shop, learn and explore, will be considered for approval at the Council's Executive meeting tonight.

Following consultation in 2019, which received over 2000 responses, ideas from Bedford Borough residents and beyond have contributed to the plan. Respondents to the consultation overwhelmingly highlighted the river as their favourite aspect of the town centre, as well as many of Bedford's independent shops and were keen to see a greater diversity of provision in the town centre including more opportunities for leisure activities.

Today, June 23^rd is International Women in Engineering Day, an international awareness campaign intended to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on career opportunities available to girls in the industry.

Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Christine McHugh is a scientist and studied engineering herself, and she's backing the campaign. Commenting, she said: "Engineers are on the front line in tackling the key challenges in the world now and in the future. If you want to help tackle climate change, or the challenges in people's everyday lives around the world, why not look into engineering as a rewarding career in which you can really make a difference?"

Today, June 22nd is Windrush Day, which celebrates the contribution of the Windrush Generation who came to the United Kingdom from the Caribbean in the postwar period.

In a video posted on his Facebook page here, Mayor Dave Hodgson has wished everyone, especially members of the Windrush generation and their descendants, a happy Windrush Day.

Public Health England and Joint Biosecurity Centre have now agreed to an in-depth investigation of the local situation, after Mayor Dave Hodgson had previously raised the issue of Bedford Borough's number of positive Coronavirus cases with Public Health England and had asked for more detailed data.

The investigation will look at why rates of infection in Bedford Borough aren't falling as quickly as in other areas, and most importantly, what can be done to bring the rate down and slow the spread of the virus.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "We need more detailed to be able to take effective action to control the spread of the virus at a local level. I am glad Public Health England in conjunction with the Joint Biosecurity Centre have agreed that Bedford Borough will be the priority area to get this 'deep dive' investigation, seeking answers to why rates here are higher than in nearby areas and what actions can be implemented to control the infection."

Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre are responsible for analysing the data from tests, enabling the virus to be traced and action taken to reduce the spread. By accessing this more detailed information, analysts at Public Health England will be working to identify any hotspots where new cases are emerging, so the appropriate action can be taken.

We already know that the rate of infections is high locally. While these rates remain high, Mayor Dave is asking everyone to continue to stay home where possible.

Mayor Dave said "I would like to thank everyone who has visited the non-essential shops in the last week for their consideration of others and ensuring they remained socially distanced by keeping 2 metres apart. I would also like to thank the shops for all the work they have done to enable social distancing whilst shopping. Social distancing along with regular hand washing makes a huge difference."