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News from the Liberal Democrats

Dave Hodgson joins Stewartby residents protesting against the Covanta Incinerator

New Hope in Covanta Incinerator Fight, as the Battle Heads for Parliament

There's new hope in the fight against the abominable plans of the waste firm Covanta to build a monstrous 600,000 tonne incinerator near Stewartby, with the final decision on its future to be considered in Parliament. The decision by the soon-to-be abolished quango the Infrastructure Planning Commission to grant permission will be subject to a 'Special Parliamentary Procedure' after Bedford Borough Council, along with Central Bedfordshire Council, refused to withdraw its objection to the plans, which involve the compulsory purchase of Council land.

15 Dec 2011
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Dave Hodgson with Town Bridge behind

A Parish for Your Area: Have Your Say on Having Your Say

Bedford Borough Council is currently undertaking a review which I hope will ultimately put right an unequal, unfair situation in the Borough. For historical reasons local residents in some areas have had a say over local concerns through their parish council. In the Borough they have existed for the rural areas and for Kempston, but not for the other urban areas. Brickhill residents put this right in their area 7 years ago, and since then they have also had their own parish Council. I believe Parish Councils play an extremely valuable role in representing local residents and getting things done for their communities. A 'Community Governance Review' is now underway to find out what people in the 'unparished' parts of the Borough think about having a parish council for their area.

31 Oct 2011
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Survey Reveals St Mary's Street is in Danger of Collapse – 8 Weeks of Works Ahead

As you may have seen or heard through local media, a survey has revealed that St Mary's street in the centre of Bedford is in danger of collapse. Astonishingly, the road was only resurfaced fewer than ten years ago by the former County Council. Sadly, however, as has been the case in areas across the Council, we are clearing up the former County Council's mess, after they didn't tackle drainage problems and simply put tarmac over the existing road surface. As the local business owners along the street, which runs off the Town Bridge to the south (from the Park Inn hotel), have made clear to me, the build up of surface water on the road causes them real problems. So, we've been aware of the lack of drainage, but it is only now a full survey has been done that the extent of the damage to the road caused by this has been revealed. It has shown that the road is in danger of 'failure' (i.e. collapse) at some point, and therefore urgent works must be undertaken. And this time we'll do a thorough job which lasts.

24 Sep 2011
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Bar Chart Showing size of Bedford Borough Council's Funding Gap to 2015

Council Funding Gap: The Scale of the Challenge

I have written before about the financial challenge facing Bedford Borough Council, but as consultation begins on the first set of proposals to modernise Council services and make them more cost-effective, it is worth considering the figures involved in order to really grasp the full scale of that challenge. Bedford Borough Council has to save £36 million over four years in order to balance the books. That's an awful lot of money by any reckoning, but the fact that it represents over a quarter of the Council's current total net budget of £129 million brings the size of the task ahead into even greater focus (the bar chart on the right provides a graphical illustration). There is no escaping this; the Council is legally required to deliver a balanced budget, and cannot make a policy decision not to make all the savings, for example. What we can do, however, is to work with all parties on the Council, with staff and crucially with residents to make sure the savings are made carefully and in the fairest way poss

31 Jul 2011
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The Royal British Legion is looking for VE and VJ Day veterans

A special programme of events marking VE 75 will take place over the Early May Bank Holiday 2020 in Central London and has been designed to be of particular interest to all from the Second World War generation who served at home and overseas across the European theatre.

25 Jan 2020
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