So, River Festival 2010 is upon us! This weekend, over a quarter of a million people will descend on the Embankment and Russell Park to enjoy what will be the biggest ever River Festival in the event's 32 year history.
After a huge amount of preparation, including by numerous volunteers, River Festival 2010 is upon us! We should be very proud that the celebration first held in 1978 to mark the opening of a navigable route from Bedford to the wash has grown to become one of the most popular free events in the country. Around 300,000 people are estimated to be heading to our town this weekend, and I cannot wait to join with the vast numbers of volunteers, community groups, sponsors and local performers in showcasing the best of what Bedford has to offer.
Tomorrow I will join other representatives from the Borough including the MP for Bedford & Kempston and the sponsor organisations of the Bedford Academy for a meeting with Secretary of state for education Michael Gove. The meeting is being held in the wake of the Government's cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future project. It provides an opportunity to make Mr Gove aware of the circumstances in Bedford Borough following the removal of all Borough Schools from the BSF programme bar the Bedford Academy, which is 'for discussion,' and comes as the Government embarks on a review of capital investment in schools.
It was a very constructive meeting with Michael Gove this morning. Clearly we didn't expect to get any answers on how much capital funding will be forthcoming for schools in the Borough this morning, but we were very glad of the opportunity to make the case for investment in our schools. We discussed the context of the cancelled Building Schools for the Future programme and what that has meant in Bedford Borough, the specific case of the Bedford Academy (which will be replacing John Bunyan Upper School from September) and its plans, the current accommodation for our special schools and the wider issues around education in the Borough.
I haven't written on here yet about the topsy-turvy day last week when we experienced the great disappointment of a narrow vote by Beds Police Authority in favour of proceeding with merger plans, only to receive the excellent news that Herts Police Authority had voted to defer the decision pending deeper collaboration between the forces and consideration of joint working. The authorities will be looking again at the matter later in the year and with two forces, along with Beds Police Authority, in favour of merger, clearly the importance of the campaign to save Beds Police is greater than ever.
The third 'Pints in the Parishes' event is taking place tonight, at the Crown in Little Staughton. These sessions are intended to provide an opportunity for me to hear directly from anyone who wants to discuss the issues important to them in an informal, local environment. They are also a chance for for me to show my support for local, community pubs. The first two sessions, in Elstow and Risely, were extremely valuable in allowing me to get out and speak to residents who may not have made an appointment to come and see me at my Borough Hall surgery sessions, or seen me at one of my regular 'walk up' surgeries at sites around the Borough. I will be in the Crown from around 7.30pm.
