Bedford
Liberal Democrats

News

Dave Hodgson on the track at Bedford Athletics Stadium

On track for 2012 and Beyond at Bedford International Athletics Stadium

Work to relay the track at Bedford International Athletics Stadium on Barkers Lane started last week, and I went along to see how things were going. It is a major investment, but the old track was in sore need of replacing after more than 20 years. The new surface will be one of just a small handful in the country which matches that which will be used in the 20102 Olympic stadium, and will enable Bedford Borough to continue hosting major events in Bedford while offering local athletes and schoolchildren high quality facilities.

30 Aug 2010
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Dave Hodgson turning the sod with representatives of Lantmannen Unibake Ltd at Cambridge Road site

Welcoming a major new employer to the Borough

This week I met the CEO of bakers Lantmannen Unibake at Cambridge Road, to the South of Bedford, to turn the first sod at the site where they are building a brand new bakery. Up to 280 people will be employed at the site, with only six coming over from Lantmannen's existing bakery in Milton Keynes. In fact, Lantmannen had originally wanted to locate this new bakery in Milton Keynes, but after they were unable to secure planning permission at a particular site there, Bedford Borough Council moved quickly when we alerted to their interest in expanding and building a major new bakery.

29 Aug 2010
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Cautious optimism over one or two emerging signs for the local economy

Last week I wrote in the Times and Citizen newspaper about my cautious optimism over one or two emerging sings for the local economy. Clearly, with households struggling in the very difficult economic climate, there is a long way to go before we can talk of a significant recovery, but the unemployment figures over the last year or so do give cause for some cautious optimism. Even though there is only so much the Council can do, I am determined that it will do all it can to help foster conditions in the local economy which help create and retain jobs in this Borough. In case you missed it, here's the article from the paper:

28 Aug 2010
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Mayor Dave Hodgson with village tour signs

55 Villages in 14 Days - Roll on Monday!

My 'village tour' of 55 of the Borough's rural villages starts on Monday, and I cannot wait to get started! At each village I will be holding a 'mobile surgery' to enable anyone to let me know about the issues that matter to them. I get around to all parts of the Borough as much as possible generally, of course, and talking directly to people from across the Borough is as essential way of finding out residents' views. However, the last couple of weeks before the Council's cycle of meetings kicks in again after the summer is a good opportunity to dedicate specific time in as many villages as I can and give people in the rural areas the best possible chance of raising any issues, concerns or ideas with me directly. Of course, the weather is also supposedly better at this time of year, but that idea seems laughable at the moment! Whatever the weather, I am really looking forward to getting out and about and meeting as many people as possible.

27 Aug 2010
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GCSE and A Level Results

I must comment on the exam results achieved by students in Bedford Borough, following the A Level and GCSE results days in the past week, and offer my congratulations to all the students for their hard work. To take one measure for GCSEs, which were published on Tuesday this week, there was a 3% rise across the Borough's maintained schools in the number of students achieving 5 A* - Cs, including English and Maths, taking this number over 50%. Meanwhile, A Level results in the Borough's maintained schools also saw a rise in terms of both the overall number of points achieved by students, and the average points achieved per subject.

26 Aug 2010
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