Village Tour Update: 60 in 30 becomes 19 in 7

I'm back out on the Village Tour trail again tomorrow, with surgeries in Oakley, Stevington, Turvey, Riseley, Swineshead, Melchbourne and Yelden. The '60 in 30' Tour is now down to 19 in 7, with 19 villages left in the schedule in the remaining 7 days of the month. The tour so far has been excellent, with 200 people coming out to talk to me about the issues on their minds in villages from Farndish in the north westof the Borough to Stewartby in the south and another 39 in between. So far 199 people have come out to talk to me about the issues on their minds.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, with the new rural bus services having started just a few weeks ago, they are the subject of a lot of discussion. I hope I've been able to reassure people about one or two concerns over the new services, and for those to whom I promised to get back in touch with more detail, please rest assured that I'm working through all of the casework and a response is on its way!

Another issue concerning many people is speeding. I know this is a real concern for communities across the Borough, in both rural and urban areas, and we have launched our speed limit review to look at the scope for lowering speed limits where this will improve safety. Of course, often the problem is not the speed limit, but the fact that a number of drivers don't pay any attention to it! This is where enforcement is so important, and we have been talking to the police and working with them through the Bedford Borough Partnership Board and the Community Safety Partnership on a project to tackle speeding.

So, with 19 villages to go, please have a look at the remainder of the Village Tour schedule and see if I'm coming to your village or nearby: