Works have begun at Bedford College's Cauldwell Street campus for the first of six major Bedford Town Deal projects within the successful bid for £22.6m to invest in the local area.
Families in Bedford Borough are paying over £23 million more a year for their energy bills because they are living in poorly insulated homes, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are demanding that the government urgently invest in fixing leaky homes in the area and cut people's energy bills in the long term.
Having written on here recently that 'Pints in the Parishes' is re-starting soon, I can now confirm a full, new schedule of these events at local village pubs around the Borough. I wrote out to all Parish Councils in July, asking if they would like to nominate a local pub which might be a suitable venue for me to visit one evening and give local residents the chance to talk to me directly about any issues they want to raise, in an informal environment. Once again I got an excellent response from the Parish Councils, and I must thank them for their suggestions. I then drew pub names out of a hat, after at first restricting the initial draw to those villages in which I have not yet held a Pints in the Parishes session. I then contacted the pubs to check that they are happy to have me, and can now confirm the full list of new dates and venues. Please have a look and see if I'm coming your way at all. It's always great to be able to talk to a good number of people and gather views on the issues of importance for
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:
A few weeks ago, local resident and athletics coach Dennis Johnson contacted me to ask for my thoughts on his proposal for a plaque to be installed next year at the Bedford birthplace of Harold Abrahams, the 1924 Olympic 100 metres champion whose triumphant story was told in the film Chariots of Fire. Abrahams is a true Olympic icon, and I couldn't agree more with Dennis that his Bedford roots should be marked in the year of the London 2012 games. Abrahams, who is one of only three British Olympic 100 metre gold medallists, was born at 30 Rutland Road in Bedford. The house was demolished in the 1930s, but Dennis is hopeful that, subject to the agreement of the current householder, a plaque can be put up on display at the current property on the site.
Kings Oak Primary School open day are holding a farm open day on Saturday 30th April 10am-1pm to offer use of our facilities to the local community and to offer tours of the school.
