Mayor Dave - Standing Up for Bedford Borough

In his latest regular email, Mayor Dave Hodsgon has written of the importance in his role of standing up for Bedford Borough, especially in the face of government attempts to reduce and remove vital local services. Mayor Dave has led campaigns against repeated attempts by Government and NHS bosses to downgrade Bedford Hospital and remove key services, for example, and he stands ready to carry on the fight to get the best for Bedford Borough in the four years ahead.

You can sign up to receive regular email updates from Mayor Dave here and meanwhile you can read his latest email, sent at the end of last week, below:

As government cuts and closure plans have continued over recent years, the part of my job as Mayor to stand up for Bedford Borough has become even more critical.

I've stood alongside residents, councillors and campaigners from all parties and of none on a range of issues:

• Preventing the repeated attempts by Government and NHS bosses to downgrade Bedford Hospital - with services such as A&E, maternity and paediatrics targeted for removal from Bedford altogether at various times.
• Saving Putnoe Walk-In Centre from the planned closure. In public and private I pressed NHS Commissioners to reverse the closure plans, alongside others, and the pressure of the campaign means it remains open today.
• Forcing a u-turn on Conservative Government plans for an additional £1.3m cut to our schools funding for next year.

… and many more besides. And I continue to make the case for Bedford Borough on ongoing issues such as the need for progress on the works to finally sort out the Black Cat roundabout and deliver a fully dualled route to Cambridge, on the importance of East-West Rail services via Bedford and on the need for Bedford to retain intercity rail services. Indeed, I raised all of these issues in a meeting in Parliament with MPs only this week.

Meanwhile, I continue to champion local employers, charities, events and everything that helps make Bedford Borough a great place to live.

With many challenges ahead where we'll need a strong, effective voice for Bedford Borough, I'm ready to keep up the fight to get the best for our communities.

Best wishes

Dave

P.S. Getting the best for our communities includes getting our roads moving and tackling congestion for all road users. That's why this week I've announced my plans to deliver the Prebend Street Relief Road, which will not only reduce traffic at the notorious 5-way roundabout with Ford End Road and Midland road but also improve air quality for local residents at what is a notorious hotspot. You can find out more here.