The latest 'Pints in the Parishes' event is taking place tonight, at The Swan in Bromham from around 7.30pm. If you're in the area, please come along and let me know about any issues or concerns you have about your local area, Council services or anything at all you want to discuss.
Please excuse the dramatic language, but the new bus services we are providing across Bedford and Kempston are at the very least a radical improvement for buses on Sunday, if not a full-blown revolution! With a one-off contribution of £48,000, we are enabling the full network of services which run from Monday to Saturday across the urban and suburban area to run on a Sunday. They will run, as a minimum, at least hourly. This is less frequent than Monday to Saturday to begin with, but it will be a major boost for bus users who tell me that the current two-hourly (at most) services, on routes which no-one seems to know and for which there is little information at shelters or elsewhere, are a major barrier to bus use on a Sunday.
Tonight is the night of the big Christmas Lights Switch-On and Fireworks show on the Embankment. It's very cold, but at least it's dry, so hopefully there'll be a good turnout for what is always a popular event. I have a little inside information about the fireworks display, and without giving anything away, I can promise it will be spectacular. With this event tonight, the free parking offer in the Council's car parks all week and a bigger and better than ever Victorian Christmas Fair coming up, there's a lot going on to make Bedford an exciting place to be in the run-up to Christmas. How sad, then, that I had to defend Bedford this morning live on the radio against those who would seek to talk our town down.
The much anticipated 'Narrow the Gap' conference took place on Thursday 18th November, at the Robinson Executive Centre, Wyboston Lakes. Head teachers from across the borough were invited to consider strategies that are proving effective in narrowing attainment gaps for children eligible for free school meals.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission's consultation on Covanta's plans to build a 600,000 tonne incinerator at Rookery Pit near Stewartby closed on Friday. I made a submission in a personal capacity. I have always been steadfast in my opposition to a project which represents an appalling prospect for Stewartby and for the wider Borough, and I set out my very strong objections to the proposal.
The Government's passion for the idea of the 'Big Society' has caused some confusion over what exactly the term means, but for me if it is to prove successful it will be made real not by theoretical discussion of the concept, but by the willingness of those with power to hand it over to the lowest practical level. I've certainly tried to instill this approach in Bedford Borough Council, and recently we've had an excellent example of the way in which the Council can empower communities. We have handed over the management of the Mile Road Allotments to the Mile Road Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Association, who have the capacity, knowledge and the passion to run their own site. This move saves the Council around £3,000 a year, so it makes sense in every respect.
