Protecting Rural Services
19 Feb 2023
The recent Council Budget protected a number of rural services, despite the drastically reduced support from the government.
The ever popular Rural Bulky Waste collections have been retained. The free collections enable residents in the rural areas, further away from the Household Waste and Recycling Centre, to safely and responsibly dispose of items. The collections will be carried out later in the year.
Mayor Dave Hodgson said "We are continuing to subsidise our rural buses, unlike some of the neighbouring councils. Whilst bus companies are struggling we have protected as many of our rural bus routes as possible, by working with the bus companies. Despite our financial support the bus companies have still had to make some cuts, due to reduced passenger numbers. We are also supporting community transport and have recently made a financial award to The Villager Minibus service in the north of the Borough. We have also seen improvements to cycling in the rural areas with Bedford Borough's Green Wheel."
Mayor Dave added "We are also investing in the upkeep of our rural roads, many of which were neglected by the previous County Council. We have spent millions renewing our road network. Some of the roads that will see improvements this financial year include the A600 in Cotton End, Mill Road in Thurleigh, Church Lane in Sharnbrook and Paula Radcliffe Way. We have recently resurfaced Thurleigh Road in Milton Ernest and Milton Road in Thurleigh, which were two of the most heavily damaged roads at the time and had been completely neglected by the County Council."
Other roads resurfaced in the last couple of years include Village Road in Bromham, the High Street and Mount Pleasant Road in Clapham, Wilden Road in Colmworth, Wood Lane in Cotton End, Carlton Road in Felmersham, Hookhams Lane in Renhold, Souldrop Road in Sharnbrook, Station Road in Willington, Bedford Road and Whitworth Way in Wilstead, Church Road and Cranfield Road in Wootton. There has also been part resurfacing of Southill Road and Cople Road in Cardington and Grange Lane in Cople.
Mayor Dave added "We are committed to ensuring our rural schools are invested in and have supported the Warm Space network in many of the rural villages across the Borough. We have also enabled Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity to deliver additional support this winter, during the Cost of Living Crisis, to residents by providing them with a £45,000 award."
You may also be aware of the Rural Grant Scheme which has seen hundreds of thousands of pounds invested in rural communities across Bedford Borough. This funding has helped improve community buildings and facilities in rural villages. You can find out more about this scheme and some of the projects it has supported here, here, here and here.