The Harpur Shopping Centre in Bedford town centre celebrated its official opening on Saturday, and Mayor Dave Hodgson was invited along to congratulate the centre and its traders on the works and conduct the official opening.
Crime is always one of the issues that, rightly, concern people.
With Bedford Borough Council and the Bedford Branch of the Royal British Legion asking everyone to safely mark Remembrance Day from home today, you can follow the annual Remembrance Day service at Bedford War Memorial live thanks to online coverage being provided by The Bedford Independent and Bedford Hospital Radio.
In 2020/21, 3,465 tonnes of "high quality" glass was collected from over 50 mini recycling sites across Bedford Borough.
From Saturday 11 to Saturday 18 February, families are invited to visit Bedford Borough Libraries for free fun craft activities. Bedford Central, Bromham, Kempston, Putnoe, and Wootton libraries all have activities planned. Crafts include; creating bug masks, paper bag dinosaurs, and Valentine's Day Cards. There will also be colouring and Lego clubs in all the libraries. Bedford Central Library has a special half-term Story Time on Wednesday 15 February 11:30am - 12:00pm.
Yesterday I spoke at the first session of the open-floor hearings being conducted by the Infrastructure Planning Commission on the application by US waste giant Covanta Energy to build a 600,000 tonne capacity incinerator at Rookery South pit near Stewartby. As I have explained previously, I have not been involved in the Council's formal submissions to the application process being conducted by the IPC, having received a warning letter from lawyers for Covanta. They had noticed that, like so many residents of this area, I am opposed to the principle of us being established as a magnet for lorries bringing waste from areas far and wide for burning using an environmentally damaging waste technology in the form of incineration. Indeed, I have campaigned against these abominable plans since they were published, well before I became Mayor. Not wanting to place the Council at any risk, I have instead taken part in the process as an individual, and did so again at the hearing yesterday.
