Digging in for the Exciting Bedford River Valley Park Project

On Sunday I was delighted to help out at a fantastic event organised by the Forest of Marston Vale Trust, which saw volunteers begin the task of planting 10,000 trees on land the Council has committed to the exciting Bedford River Valley Park project. The project will see 3 and a half square miles of public woodland and parkland created between Bedford and Willington, with lots of footpaths, cycle paths and opportunities for leisure and recreational activities, including the long-planned lake for rowing and other water-sports. It really is an exciting project for the Borough which I have been delighted to support as Mayor, and if you have not seen the plans I strongly recommend you have a look at the project's website - http://www.bedfordrivervalleypark.org/- which includes a copy of the masterplan.

There was a very good turnout at the event, and it was great to see so many people turning up on their bikes after cycling along route 51 between Bedford and Sandy, or arriving on the shuttle bus from the park and ride site which was laid on for the day. The pcture above shows me out in the planting are with Kingsbrook Ward Councillor Anita Gerard, while the one below shows us taking a well-earned rest nearthe refreshments tent with Forest of Marston Vale Chief Executive Tony Talbot, whom we congratulated on a very successful day.

There will lots more opportunities to find out about the exciting River Valley Park project, which will continue to come to fruition over the coming years, and to help out at further volunteering events.