Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats

At a meeting of the Executive last night, several new project proposals were announced to enhance the local environment. The proposals set out funding for a pavement cleaning machine, protective measures for parks, a major play area refurbishment programme, tree planting, footway renewal and verge protection.

In the recent Budget announcement, it was revealed that the government have failed to grant any of the £15 million of Levelling Up funding to Kempston that Bedford Borough Council had bid for. Commenting on this announcement, Mayor Dave Hodgson said "I am very disappointed with this outcome. The funds could've been used to greatly boost the economic vitality of the town centre, by regenerating the existing spaces and improving the walking and cycling infrastructure. The Saxon Centre is one of the focal points of Kempston Town Centre and it is disappointing we were not granted the funds to regenerate the area."

The latest weekly Coronavirus snapshot for Bedford Borough has been published.

The figures show that in the seven days up to 14th November:

• 7,754 PCR tests were taken
• There were 772 Coronavirus cases (75 more than the previous week)
• The weekly positive cases per 100,000 population was 441.9 (down from 399.0 in the previous week)

14,273 low income households in Bedford Borough are paying too much for their broadband because the Government has not exercised the power it has to force providers to offer cheaper tariffs, an analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.

So-called 'social tariffs', which typically offer broadband access between £10 and £20 a month, are only currently offered by some providers. But changes to the law that came into force last year mean that the Government now has the ability to force broadband providers to offer these cheaper deals to low income households.

Ahead of next week's Executive Meeting, several new project proposals have been announced to further reduce the council's carbon emissions. The proposals set out funding for more solar panels on council buildings, new electric council vehicles, providing the charging infrastructure in the depot for the council's switch to electric vehicles as well as increasing tree planting.

Figures from July reveal the number of electric vehicle charging points per 100,000 people in Bedford Borough (49.8) is double the regional average (25). Commenting on the data Mayor Dave Hodgson said, "These figures show that there is nowhere better in the East of England to own an electric vehicle and we are committed to increasing numbers of charging points across Bedford Borough. This is an important part of driving down emissions and making sure we reach our commitment to be a net zero carbon council by 2030".

The latest weekly Coronavirus snapshot for Bedford Borough has been published.

The figures show that in the seven days up to 7th November:

• 8,066 PCR tests were taken
• There were 697 Coronavirus cases (100 less than the previous week)
• The weekly positive cases per 100,000 population was 399.0 (down from 456.2 in the previous week)

On Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26, global leaders came together to discuss how cities and urban areas can be transformed by green technology to become centres for climate action. As you can imagine, cities and urban areas produce the overwhelming majority of global carbon emissions through transport, industry and the energy needed for millions of people to live there.