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/.

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