Over 160 people from across the Marston Vale turned out in the cold and rain on Saturday morning to join the “Our Marston Vale “ protest outside Stewartby Village Hall against the proposed Covanta Incinerator.

Covanta were holding one of their public consultation events at the Stewartby Village Hall. “Our Marston Vale” had organised the protest to make it absolutely clear to Covanta and the Infrastructure Planning Commission that the incinerator is vehemently opposed by the residents of the Marston Vale.

Liberal Democrat Cllr for Stewartby and Wootton Tim Hill says; “Residents turned out in force to say a big fat no to Covanta and its crazy proposal.

-       A big fat no to a 3 tonne lorry every minute along Stewartby’s village roads.

-       A big fat no to chimney emissions that Covanta won’t say what’s in them.

-       A big fat no to a massive blot on the landscape.

-       A big fat no to re-using only 15% of waste.

“And a massive no to Covanta’s misleading “spin” on how “traffic won’t be a problem””.

You may have picked up in the local press that the Borough Council had applied for grant funding from the “Homes and Communities Agency” for amongst other things, the construction of two additional permanent pitches at the Kempston Hardwick Gypsy and Traveller site. 

The Government had decided that the Council has to provide 46 permanent pitches for Gypsies and Travellers by 31^st March 2011. The two additional pitches on this site assist in meeting that target.  

Just to let you know that the grant application has been successful. The grant provides 100% funding for this provision, which means at least the Council Tax will not have to increase because of it.  The terms of the acceptance of the funding state that work must be started on site by 31^st March 2011. It is anticipated that work will start on site well before the end of 2010. However, the Council is currently reviewing the timescale for the 2 new pitches. There are a number of technical and legal issues the Council needs to consider. It will also consult the residents and your Ward Councillors on any play equipment that the Council might provide. Please let me know if you have any queries on this issue.

See http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=332658045783

We are in the middle of conducting in Elstow a survey of what local residents think on several local and national issues. 

I am very pleased to report that the replies are flooding in – either being left by people in their letterboxes for us to pick up later or being sent to the Freepost address on the survey. 

Once all of Elstow has been surveyed by the Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team, I will send everyone a summary of the results for the whole of the village. 

I am also determined to take action as soon as I possibly can on all casework issues raised by residents.  

Thank you once again if you filled in our Survey – the results will really help us in our campaigning all year round for Elstow.  

If we haven’t called yet, please be patient. We will get to you eventually!

ApologiesDue to my attendance at my first Marston Vale Landfill Community Liaison meeting at the Village Hall the same night, I will be unable to attend the Parish Council meeting. 

Covanta IncineratorI arranged a meeting for 18 Dec 09 between the Mayor, Judith Cunningham, myself and residents campaigning against the Covanta proposal. The Mayor suggested, and it was agreed, that a wider meeting of all people campaigning against the issue will be held on 4 Jan 10 at the Borough Hall.I currently plan to attend the Covanta Community Liaison Panel meeting on 11 Jan 10 at the Forest Centre.Around 50 residents from Elstow and Stewartby have signed and returned to us our anti-Covanta petition at their own expense. 

Boundary Committee ReviewPart of the all-party Borough Council’s Warding Proposals Task Group’s official recommendation to the Borough Council’s General Purposes Committee meeting on 7 Jan 10 is that Stewartby should form a single member Ward with Elstow. The Liberal Democrat Group is opposed to this part of the Warding Proposals Task Group’s recommendation. However, the Liberal Democrat Group does support the part of the recommendation that moves all of the properties to the north of Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick into the same Borough Ward as Stewartby, whatever that Ward turns out to be.  

Ward Councillors FundEach Borough Councillor has an amount of money based on its population to donate to local organisations to spend on capital improvement projects in his/her Ward.I have donated part of my Fund for the Stewartby Parish Council to spend on improving/repairing a number of street lights. 

Local IssuesI formally objected to the planning application by G Moores to the Borough Council to effectively double the operations at their Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick site. I also spoke against it at the Planning Committee on 14 Dec 10. The Planning Committee agreed to do a site visit on 8 Jan 10.I formally objected to the application by C Jackson & Sons to the Environment Agency for an environmental permit for asbestos waste transfer at their Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick site.

I have sent the following objection to this application to the Environment Agency. For further details on the application, please see:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/consultations/114217.aspx 

I write to formally object to the above application for an Environmental Permit for C Jackson & Sons (Bedford) Ltd. I wish to object on the following grounds:  
a) Its detrimental effect on the amenity, environment and noise levels of local residents due to the inevitable outcome of increased lorry movements and hours.  
b) The detrimental effect of the increased movements and hours on the existing road network. Manor Road is simply not built for the increased amount of traffic and there is nothing in the conditions that will alter that.  
c) I believe permits would not normally be given for such operations where residential properties are within 500 metres. There are 4 properties within 200 metres and a further 31 within 400 metres.  
Although a 12 month temporary planning permission was given on 31 Mar 09 related to this permit, it is relevant to state that this permission was given despite 2 errors: 
i) The permission states that there are no properties within 200 metres. See above. 
ii) No residential property was consulted at all during the planning process. This was possibly due to error i)?  
I would be very grateful if you could confirm on the e-mail address below: 
a) You have received this objection. 
b) The final decision on the application

Planning Committee tonight will be discussing an application from G Moore’s of Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick to double their number of lorry movements and to extend their hours of operation deep into the night.

I believe this application is a step too far for the local community surrounding the site in question.

Most people will know that although there have been businesses on this site for many years, the road and the surrounding community is essentially that of a rural backwater with houses dotted here and there for the old brickworks managers and a small terraced estate for some workers.

The applicant at the moment occasionally receives permission for one-off applications for operational hours outside the current 7am – 7pm restrictions. That is just about acceptable and manageable for the local community. This application turns those one-off occasional permissions into a permanent permission for another 4 hours of operations and the capacity to double the throughput from 75,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes and increase the daily vehicle movements from 170 to 340. This is unacceptable to the local community, and is also unacceptable to Stewartby Parish Council.

Planning Committee will know that the applicant provides an environmentally useful service as one if its purposes is recycling, but that should not be considered as an issue applicable to this application.

Manor Road is in places barely more than one vehicle width. Manor Road is a serious accident waiting to happen. This application will only make that more likely.

In detail, the condition relation to no change until the A421 is meaningless. The problem is the current and potential amount of lorry traffic on Manor Road, not at its junctions with or on the A421 or B530. The applicant’s transport assessment is therefore not worth the money that has been spent on it.

The effect on the amenity of this site on local residents has recently been adversely affected by the removal of a wall from its waste transfer building. This application will only make things worse for the local community.

Therefore I will ask the committee to refuse this application on the grounds of:

a)     Its detrimental effect on the amenity, environment and noise levels of local residents due to the inevitable outcome of increased lorry movements and hours.

b)    The detrimental effect of the increased movements and hours on the existing road network. Manor Road is simply not built for the increased amount of traffic and there is nothing in the conditions that will alter that.

c)     The extended hours and increased operations are not in keeping with a small rural backwater and a small amount of local industry.

I will ask the Committee to please refuse and allow its planners to manage the site in keeping with its local community as it just about does know.

Mayor Dave Hodgson launched Bedford Borough’s first ‘Meet the Buyer’ event, where small local firms got the chance to meet buyers from nine major local organisations, at the Barns Hotel in Bedford last week. The event was designed to give small local firms, who do not usually have access to major buyers, the chance to develop contacts and seek to develop potentially lucrative relationships with the larger organisations.

The major buyers attending the event included Wells & Young’s, Bourns, Lockheed Martin, Autoglass, Axis Electronics, University of Bedfordshire, London Luton Airport, Bedford Borough Council, and General Motors.

Mayor Dave Hodgson, who has campaigned for both businesses and individuals to ‘buy local’ to support businesses in the Borough, has declared that the event must be the first of many designed to boost local procurement. Commenting, he said: “”In the current financial climate it’s essential that we do all we can to help local businesses. That’s why this excellent event must be the first in a series to take place to support local small and medium sized firms and provide them with the sort of access to major buyers that they wouldn’t usually have. I hope to hear of many cases of local firms developing their contacts and securing work which will help them prosper, and will in turn help create jobs and wealth in Bedford Borough.”

The Meet the Buyer Event was held at the Barns Hotel in Bedford on 25th November from 2 p.m, and was supported by the Bedford Borough Council through the Bedford Development Agency. Early feedback from the event from both buyers and suppliers has been positive.

At a packed council meeting at Bedford Corn Exchange last night, it was decided by 19 votes to 17 that the two-tier education system will replace Bedford’s existing three-tier system.

There was a 30 minute open session for questions from members of the public which was understandably very passionate at times. 

I spoke calling on the Council to retain the 3-Tier system for three reasons:

a) Small is beautiful. The 2 tier proposals will create monolithic supper structures for upper schools.

b) Disruption. 4-5 years of school years will face tremendous disruption to their education for impossible to prove benefits.

c) Finance. David Cameron has already stated to Tory Councillors that he cannot guarantee the £340m will be ring-fenced for Bedford IF the Tories win the next election…..and we all know what a catastrophic affect Thatcher had on education in the 1980s amongst other things.

However I did state the proposals that Mike Berrill is building for the Biddenham School site were worth a look as an alternative to the 2 tier proposals for the rest of the Borough.

After an intense and at times raucous 2 hour debate, a recorded vote was agreed and each councillor voted whether they were in favour of an amendment to return the proposal to the Executive for them to re-consider. This was lost by 17 votes to 19. The 2 tier proposals then won by the same margin.

Despite my passionate objections to the proposals, democracy has spoken and we must now all work together to make sure all our children get the best education. 

After a discussion lasting over an hour the decision was taken to support the Officers’ recommendation. They voted as follows:  

Mayor Dave Hodgson - For

Cllr Nicky Attenborough - For

Cllr Nick Charsley - Against

Cllr Michael Headley - Against

Cllr Barry Huckle - Apologies

Cllr Will Hunt - For

Cllr Sue Oliver - Against

Cllr Charles Royden - For

Cllr David Sawyer - For

This now means it will be debated at Full Council and decided by all Members present, including those that have already voted at Executive.

The scale of the task faced by the new regime of Mayor Dave Hodgson in delivering a budget which keeps tax down and protects vital services after the Tory County Council left its finances in a perilous state has been revealed. Newly-appointed Finance Portfolio Holder, Liberal Democrat Cllr Michael Headley, has set out Bedford Borough Council’s current financial situation and declared that the council must make sure that ‘every penny’ of its budget delivers for local residents.

Commenting, Cllr Headley said: “The Unitary Council has taken on a toxic legacy from the Conservative County Council.

It charged the country’s second highest rate of County Council tax while providing failing services which saw, for example, crumbling unsafe roads and adult social care services on the point of emergency government intervention.

Our task is to improve those services while keeping the council tax level down.

We have inherited a predicted 11.5 per cent council tax increase and an overspend of £4.2 million.

This has been caused in part by inadequate financial information provided by the County Council, in addition to pressures caused by the current economic situation.

Staff from the former County Council were let down by the political leadership, and many of them are now an integral part of the Borough unitary authority.’

“To give an idea of the scale of the task we face, every one per cent reduction in Council tax equates to £700,000 in savings.

We are totally committed to achieving the vast savings required to keep council tax down and protect front line services. Local residents will expect nothing less, particularly in these difficult economic times.

Over the coming weeks and months we will be poring over the budget line by line, challenging every part of the council to ensure that there is a need for all council expenditure and that residents are getting full value.

We must ensure that every single penny of the council budget delivers for local residents.”

The long-awaited report is out! Go to:  http://www.councillorsupport.bedford.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=116&MId=604&Ver=4 to read the 200 page report - let me know what you think.

Mayor Dave Hodgson has delivered an early Christmas Present to shoppers in Bedford town centre by announcing a week of free parking beginning on November 30th. All council-run car parks in the town centre will be free for all users during this week, with this initiative just one of several which make Bedford the place to go for Christmas shoppers this year.

I am delighted the Mayor has announced this week of free parking in the run-up to Christmas. It will provide a real boost for residents and town centre retailers towards the end of what has been a tough year economically for everyone. Along with the range of promotions and events in the town centre that are coming up, the free parking scheme will make Bedford an even more attractive place to come for Christmas shoppers.

The Car parks involved in the free parking week are:

· River Street

· St. Peters Street

· Lurke Street

· Queen Street

· Allhallows

· Riverside Square

· Duckmill Lane

· Melbourne Street

Judith Cunningham and I will be holding our regular Advice Surgeries on Saturday 5th September:

10am - 11.30am - Wootton Library.

11.45am - 12.30pm - Stewartby United Church Hall.

I’ve received phone calls from residents of Rousbury Road, Stewartby regarding who owns the land at the rear of Rousbury Road and Stewartby Way that the old parish play area used to be on.

This arises from letters they have received from O & H Properties telling residents O&H will be blocking off their access to the play area and illegally attaching panels to residents private fences that open out onto the this land. This seems a little heavy-handed and over the top, especially as the fence gates in some cases have been in place for many years and the land until recently hosted the old parish play area.

Why can’t O&H just let sleeping dogs lie on issues where in this case it is a welcome amenity for local people ?

One can only say this is another classic case of this absentee landlord being heavy handed stripping the green areas of Stewartby for all the money it can get and not caring about local residents?

The Sir Malcolm Stewart, Bart., General Charitable Trust manages the Sir Malcolm Stewart Homes in Stewartby. 

The Trust was set up by the original owners of the local brickworks to provide and manage the homes built for the brickworks workers in Stewartby.

By and large the Trust has adjusted well to the various changes in ownership of the brickworks to ensure its historical mission to ensure retired brickworks workers are well looked after. 

Unfortunately it is not doing so in one case I have. A resident of the Homes contacted me in February 2009 regarding the refusal of the Trust to their request for permission for them to have a multi-flame burner in their property. On examining the correspondence provided to me, I felt the resident has a good case for an appeal against the refusal. I immediately wrote to the Trust asking them to re-consider their refusal. 

What with the hectic three months of the election campaign and an extremely stressful time at work, I didn’t have time to look out for an early reply.  The resident recently contacted me to ask if I had received a reply. On checking my records, I was extremely disappointed to find I have not received one. With the winter months not that far away, the resident quite rightly wants to get this issue sorted out.

I have today written to the Trust asking for a prompt reply to my original letter and why it has taken so long to reply to it.

It seems I spoke too soon.

Yes, the Full Council will get the chance to have a vote if the Mayor’s Executive recommends a change to 2-Tier.

However, it became apparent at last nights Full Council meeting that the undemocratic nature of the processes of the directly-elected Mayor system will come into force, even though the Mayor wasn’t even sure last night what his own system means.

if the Full Council votes against the change, the Executive will then discuss the Council’s view. It can agree with the Council or as seems likely, it will send it back to the Council to vote again on the Executive’s view for a change to 2-Tier.

Now the undemocratic process really comes into play. Full Council has to vote by a 2/3rds majority to over-ride the Executive’s view !

I’m pleased to report that the motion was passed overwhelmingly with all the Liberal Democrat group supporting it, all the Tories supporting it and a couple of courageous Independents supporting it as well.

The Labour Group all abstained. This is better than voting against but it does betray the liberal instincts I know some of the Labour Councillors have.

What greatly dissapointed me was that the Mayor left before the debate even started. This is a shame as the motion calls upon him and his Executive to take some actions in support of the Council’s view if they so choose.

But then he copped out of attending 2-tier/3-tier school consultation meetings even though it’s him who’s pushing for the change.

The phrase “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” doesn’t come to mind.

I am very pleased to report that the Borough Council has informed all Councillors that the Full Council will get the opportunity to vote on whether the school structure should be changed.

He told us yesterday by e-mail that:
“if the Executive, at its meeting on 16 September 2009, considers that the school structure should be changed it will need to make a recommendation to Full Council. Given the importance of the decision Group Leaders have agreed that a Special Full Council will be held on Thursday, 24 September 2009. For clarity, if the Executive decide that there should be no change to the school structure there will be no need for the Special Council meeting.”

This is a victory for democracy and accountability. It follows consistent calls from myself and other Liberal Democrat Councillors for teh decision to be made by the Full Council rather than the much smaller Mayor’s Executive.

I haven’t totally made up my mind which way I shall vote on this issue…..if I get the opportunity to do so!

I like the sound of the modular proposals coming out of Biddenham Upper.

Given a blank slate and a choice between 2-tier and 3-tier, I would probably prefer the 2-tier system.

But we’re not.

I believe the emphasis is on the 2-tier proponents to prove their case that the massive change is needed and that the advantages of the massive change will far outweigh the disadvantages the massive change will cause the pupils facing the disruption caused by it.

Only Chris Hilliard and Mike Berrill have given me cause to think the massive change will be worth it. The consultation meetings and the Mayor’s words elsewhere have singularly failed to do so.

I also think it is totally wrong that the Mayor has not been present at consultation meetings, meetings that affect the biggest decision this Borough faces for the foreseeable future.

The Borough also has to find a way to ensure that the whole Council votes on this issue rather than the Mayor and his smaller Executive. If it does, given a choice between 2-tier and 3-tier only, I currently intend to vote 3-tier.

Several residents of Keeley Lane, Wootton were in touch earlier this year about the blocked drainage pipe across the road. I immediately asked the County Council to take action.  

I have recently asked local residents to let me know if it is still blocked. 

Local residents have been in touch with me to advise it is indeed still blocked.

I have now directly contacted the Borough Council’s Director of Environment and Street Services asking him to take prompt action as this delay is simply not good enough.

Now we are the largest party on the Borough Council, we want to make real improvements to the services local residents get from the Council.

The Liberal Democrat Group on the new Environment Regeneration and Corporate Services Committee is pressing for it to look at the following items at its Agenda Planning Meeting on 1 July. 

* highways contractor performance including:
        - amount of re-work required.
        - way customer satisfaction is measured.
        - other local authority insurance company checking time periods.
        - comparison of performance and costs between DSD and Amey.
       
* physical environment
        - tree care
        - cycle route strategy/plan

* zero waste strategy
        - learning from best practice local authorities.
        - waste recycling strategy.

* regeneration
        - learning from best practice local authorities.

The Liberal Democrats’ Manifesto for Bedford Borough has identified ‘Six to Fix’ for Bedford Borough. These are the areas we have identified as being in the most urgent need of action to improve things for local residents. One of these areas is education, where standards are too low. We must raise GCSE results to above the national average. 

Currently, 46% of children in Bedford Borough schools are achieving five A* - C grades (including English and Maths) at GCSE level. This is lower than the national average of 48%, and a shocking 6% lower than average achieved by schools in Bedford Borough’s ‘Comparator Areas,’ which are selected by the government as areas which share a number of characteristics and across which comparisons can be made. These figures are not acceptable. We will raise GCSE results to above the national average as a first, urgent step to improving education performance for children in Bedford Borough. 

You can just see me at the back of the photo - I’m the tall one

http://www.bedfordlibdems.org.uk/news/000613/julia_goldsworthy_mp_launches_lib_dem_manifesto_for_bedford_borough.html

Several local Residents are greatly affected by the current application from G Moores in Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick to the County Council to effectively double the size of their operations. 

I understand from local residents that the application is to increase the yearly tonnage from 75,000 to 150,000 and the daily:

a) Movements (in and out) from 170 to 340.

b) Time limits from 7am-7pm to 7am-11pm. 

I also understand that although the residents consultation deadline is Mon 2 Mar 09, the application decision deadline is not until May. Therefore the final decision will be taken by the new Unitary Planning Authority. I have requested that this application is placed on the agenda of a future relevant Planning Committee of the Unitary Authority.   I have formally objected to this application for the following reasons:

a) Detrimental affect on the amenity, environment and noise levels of local residents due to the increased tonnage, movements and hours.

b) The current permission allows for movements from 7am. Movements are currently taking place from 6am without any enforcement to address this.

c) Detrimental affect of the increased tonnage, movements and hours on the existing road network. The existing road network is not built for extensive heavy lorry use in terms of size, structure and exits.

d) There is also no current footpath in place. The existing road network is an accident waiting to happen. This application will only make things worse.

e) The effect on the amenity of this site on local residents has recently been adversely affected by the removal of a wall from their waste transfer building. This application will only make things worse. 

The first budget of the unitary Bedford Borough Council is set to include a raft of proposals to meet residents’ priorities, including an additional £1 million for road and footpath repairs and a freeze on short-stay car park charges, thanks to the Liberal Democrats.

The Borough’s council tax increase will be remain at the proposed low level of 0.9%, with our package of vital initiatives and funding boosts for essential services to be paid for by cutting back spending on council PR and ceremonial events and releasing unused council reserves.

The only opposition to the plans came from the Tories, who voted against the package which in addition, includes more funding for protecting green spaces from unauthorised camps, activities for young people in the borough and tackling climate change.

After years of chronic under-funding, an additional £1 million investment for roads and footpaths will enable the vital task of tackling the severe backlog of repairs. Roads and footpath maintenance is just one area where residents have been sorely let down, and we are delighted that thanks to our proposals the budget will address real concerns of local people.

The Tories by voting against measures such as extra road repairs and protection of land from unauthorised camps were simply adding further insult to the injury caused by their long record of misrule at County Hall. It is that record that the Borough unitary authority must turn around, and our budget proposals should form part of the first step in that direction.

Our proposals, which will now go forward as part of the budget for approval by the Full Council, include:

·         An extra £1million for roads and paths repairs.

·         £40,000 to tackle the problems of verge parking.

·         £35,000 to protect open spaces from unauthorised traveller encampments.

·         A total of over £100,000 added into the budget for children and young people to enhance youth services, boost holiday ‘play schemes and ’street schemes’ and provide facilities for young people.

·         £20,000 for action on climate change and cutting council energy bills.

·         £12,000 for the repair, replacement or provision of new bus shelters.

I have sent to all pensioners in Stewartby that I know of a Booklet the Borough Council has called “Keep Warm Keep Well” for the Over-60s. 

Whether you come into this age group or not, I think you will find it full of useful tips on keeping warm.  

If you haven’t received a copy, please let me know and I will send you one. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries on anything in the Booklet.

I have sent to all pensioners in Wootton that I know of a Booklet the Borough Council has recently published called “Information and Activities for the over 50’s”. 

Whether you come into this age group or not, I think you will find it full of useful information on all sorts of activities in and around Bedford Borough.  

If you haven’t received a copy, please let me know and I will send you one. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries on anything in the Booklet.

Local residents in School Lane, Stewartby have been in touch with me to raise several local issues. One is that when parts of School Lane were resurfaced some time ago, the white lines showing:

a)     Where to stop at its junction with Stewartby Way

b)     Parking restrictions outside the driveway for 1, Stewartby Way

were not reinstated. 

Just to let you know that I have reported this issue to the County Council’s Highways Department.

I have reported the pothole in the footpath outside 18, Elmsdale Road, Wootton to the County Council’s Highways Department. 

I have asked for it to be filled in as soon as possible. I will let you know their reply as soon as I can.

Local residents have been in touch to advise that although there is still some litter in the ditches close to the school, the situation has improved considerably.  I believe this is a combination of:

a) Getting the Borough Litter Pickers to do a litter pick.

b)     Getting the Borough to do a Pride In Bedford Community Clean up in Wootton in November every year.

c)     Persuading the Pride In Bedford Team to approach Wootton Upper to get some 6th form students to do a Project on educating the school about litter.

Many thanks indeed for your time if you were in when I was calling on local residents in Studley Road, Wootton on Sat 18^th Oct 08. 

I was really pleased to see that the road surface at the entrance area to Studley Road is in good condition after my pressure on the County Council in Oct 06-Jan 07 to get it done.  

However, I was concerned to see the amount of weeds on the footpath verges. I have asked the County Council to arrange for the area to be cleared of weeds.

The Liberal Democrats want to know your views on plans to build a waste incinerator near Stewartby. The project has been driven to date by the Tory-run Bedfordshire County Council. With the County Council being abolished on 1 April 2009 it is down to Bedford Borough, Central Beds and Luton Councils to decide whether to progress with the plans.

Bedford Borough Lib Dems have consistently opposed the plans for the giant incinerator, believing that it will work against the goals of reducing waste and increasing recycling and arguing that there are better waste disposal options for the environment. The options include Mechanical and Biological Treatment, which is a process whereby as many useful materials are extracted from the waste as possible before any sort of treatment of the remaining waste takes place.

We want to know what your views are. Do you want think that burning the County’s domestic rubbish in an incinerator near Stewartby is the right thing to do, or do you think that local councils should be pursuing a different option? Please let us know by using the on-line poll on the Bedford Liberal Democrats web site at http://www.bedfordlibdems.org.uk/.

I met with several Parish Councillors, the local beat bobby Jamie Quinney and the new Area Inspector Mark Everett for an on-site meeting on this issue on Tuesday night. I’m very pleased to report that we agreed a way forward.We will be approaching the Town Hall for a temporary Mobile CCTV camera to be placed for a few weeks to cover most of the lay-by with suitable signs placed nearby.

If this is agreed and it has the desired effect, the Parish Cllrs present agreed the Acting Chair should propose to the Parish Council that is should set up 2 permanent CCTV cameras to cover all of the lay-by with suitable signs placed nearby. 

If it doesn’t have the desired effect, various options will be discussed that could include setting up Gates or laying temporary blocks. 

I promised all those present at the on-site meeting that I would approach County Hall to discuss the urgent need for some work on Stewartby Way to slow down the majority of drivers who speed along Stewartby Way. The local Police Constable confirmed on Tuesday night that he is regularly catching people speeding and giving out tickets. Action is required before someone is fatally injured.

Just to let you know that I recently received a letter from Bedfordshire County Council.  It relates to the temporary closure of Keeley Lane , Wootton for:

-        2 days during the period Mon 6^th Oct 08 to Wed 31^st Dec 08.

-        One day during the period Fri 1^st May 09 to Tues 30^th June 09.

-        One day during the period Tues 1^st July 09 to Sun 31^st Aug 09.

Why they cannot be more precise on the dates involved beggars belief! 

I would very much appreciate it if you could give me your feedback on the following issues:

a)    Did you receive a copy of the enclosed letter yourself?

b)    If you did, did you think it was enough notice?

My current view is that the County Council does not give enough notice to a large enough number of local residents on such issues. However, I would like your views before I can lobby the County Council to improve the way they do this. Please let me know by either e-mail, letter or phone what your views. I look forward to hearing from you.

You may remember my article in July advising why the County Council contractors made such a “botch” of their attempt to meet my request for Bourne End Road to be resurfaced and that they will be back on site in Sept 08. 

Just to let you know that I have today asked the County Council contractors exactly when in Sept 08 they will be returning to do the proper job that they originally promised to do. 

I will let you know their reply as soon as I can.

Potters Cross residents have been left fuming after the County Council’s road contractor left road maintenance works unfinished after striking two water mains, one of which continued to spew out water over a week after being burst.  The works on Potters Cross remain incomplete despite the legal notice for the works stating that they would be finished by July 7^th.  The legal notice for the works also stated that the entire road would be resurfaced, when in fact just a few metres have been repaired. 

The long overdue resurfacing of Potters Cross has become an absolute farce.  It beggars belief that with no improvement works having been done on the road for over thirty years, nobody thought to check if there were any obstructions such as water mains.  For one of the burst mains to then be left unrepaired for over a week is utterly inexcusable.

As the different parties squabble over who should take responsibility for mistakes, the interests of local residents seem to be the very last consideration.

For residents to be told by the County Council that the entire paved road would be resurfaced, only to find that the contractors are working on just a short stretch is simply unacceptable.

Details of the proposed post office closures have been announced. This will be followed by a six week period of consultation with the local community.

The loss of the post office will hit Stewartby hard. It is a vital asset for many local people and closing it will cause many difficulties for older people and others with mobility problems, in particular.

Despite the decision of Labour MP’s to help the Government press ahead with closures, Liberal Democrats are continuing to fight the demolition of the post office network.

Our plan would give a real investment of £2 billion in the post office, would increase the services offered at local post office branches and improve the network so that every community that needs a post office gets one.

We are the only party with a fully-funded plan to save the post office, give it a long-term future and not just manage its decline.

Our plan would see:
· £2 billion invested in post office network;
· New branches opening where needed;
· Government services continuing to be available at the Post Office;
· The Post Office freed from Royal Mail restrictions to let it develop new business;
· A new legal requirement for the Government to maintain the local Post Office network.

We will keep you posted

Despite being at business meetings in Birmingham and Milton Keynes on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, I was able to find out from the Borough Legal Team that the County Council Legal Team are “on the case”.

They are hopeful that the travellers can be moved on within the the next week.

I have delivered a leaflet to about 2/3rds of Stewartby outling the Borough policy and what we as Cllrs can do to help. Stewartby Way and the closes off, Kitchener Place and Russet Court all got it. Time and energy prevented me from delivering the whole of Stewartby.

Local residents have reported to me the travellers on Green Lane Stewartby. 

I have reported this to the relevant Borough Solicitor and let the current Chair of the Parish Council know I have done so. 

I will provide more updates as and when I have more information

Potters Cross residents will remember my letter of 13^th June 2008 regarding the resurfacing works in Potters Cross. Several local residents have contacted me seeking re-assurance that the resurfacing is for the whole of the tarmaced road. I did confirm that according to the correspondence I had received from the County Council, it is for the whole of the tarmaced road. I have today contacted the County Council to seek final written confirmation that the whole tarmaced road is being resurfaced. In the meantime, I would very much appreciate your feedback on the following issues:a)     Do you think the workmen have been doing everything they can to ensure reasonable access for you?b)     What do you think of the standard of the surface laid?c)     Does it look as though the whole length of the tarmaced road is to be re-surfaced?I would like the feedback as I want to ensure the County Council contractors do the agreed work and to a standard they are being paid for. If necessary, I will lobby the County Council to improve this. 

Wavell Close residents will remember my letter to them of 8^th May 2008 regarding the request to the County Council by the Parish Council, local residents and the Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team to “tidy up” the Wavell Close green. Local residents had told us and the Parish Council that the layout of the green was too big for the Close. Local residents have been in contact with us to advise that the requested scheme has not been implemented by the County Council. Indeed what has been implemented not only makes the square look odd, but it does not meet the purposes of why the work was done.  I have today contacted the County Council to ask why the agreed scheme has not been implemented and will let you know their reply as soon as I can. I will of course be pressing the County to then implement the agreed scheme. 

British Telecom have announced plans to remove 28 public payphones from a variety of both urban and rural locations across Bedford Borough. Liberal Democrats have called for BT to justify the removals by providing individual usage figures for the payphones and stating the criteria they have used to identify call boxes for removal.

The Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team,  whose Wootton and Stewartby Ward faces the loss of a payphone in Stewartby, said “This is further evidence of a continued erosion of local services. It is not good enough for BT to simply announce a huge cull of local payphones without even providing usage figures for the phones or their criteria for identifying those to be removed.’

“While it may be the case that some payphones do not cover costs, BT makes huge profits and it must recognise the crucial purpose that payphones can serve by being available for emergency use. In addition to retaining a healthy distribution of payphones it is essential that BT ensure payphones are well maintained and where necessary adapted in order that they can only be used for outgoing calls to prevent their use by drug dealers, for example. “

Bedford Borough Council is conducting a consultation on BT’s proposed payphone removals, with a closing date for responses of the 25th of June.

Local residents contacted me 15 months ago to express their concern about local kids climbing the tree outside 3, Sanders Way and looking into various bedrooms.

After months of trying to find out who owns the tree, the Borough have thanfully now finally put their hand up to claim ownership.

The tree is decaying in several palces so the opportunity will be taken to solve the issue raised and help the tree at the same time.

I’m pleased to report that a couple of residents rang me last night to thank me as the light is now back on.

Amazing what a bit of co-ordination can do

A car knocked down the old lamp post in Aug 07. This was replaced with a new one in Nov 07 and connection was promised within the week. A resident received a letter from County Hall advising it would be lit within the next week. That resident rang me yesterday to let me know it is still not lit ! I’ve just rung County Hall and no one seems to know why it hasn’t been lit ! It seems the networks team may not have asked EDF to light it or it may be because the accident caused it not to be part of the replacement programme along the road.

Ummmm……………..left hand and right hand

Some local residents have been in touch asking for a footpath on the evens side of Fields Road.

I have consulted with the residents of that side of Fields Road.  The feedback is mixed at the moment; some are saying it is badly needed whilst others are saying it would cost too much and the County Council are unlikely to do it in the forseeable future. I’ll let you know the outcome and will bear in mind all these views when discussing it with officers, and Judith and Gordon.