Kensworth Parish designated as a Neighbourhood Planning Area

Kensworth parish

Kensworth held a public meeting in late 2013 to investigate whether preparing a Neighbourhood Plan was the right way forward for the parish.  Having received a positive response and then moving forward to form an appropriate steering group, progress is slowly but surely being made and the official designation of the Neighbourhood Planning Area was made last week.

The area is the same as the civil parish - click here to link to a better quality pdf of the area covered.

Luton Airport scores badly in customer satisfaction survey

I see from a story reported today on luton-dunstable.co.uk that London Luton Airport has been rated the worst in the United Kingdom for customer satisfaction in a Which? survey.

The story also refers to expected improvements following the planned £100M redevelopment program; I know that many local people have employment either at or connected to the airport and hope that they also benefit from an improved working enviroment.

It was, of course, a great shame that Luton Borough Council declined the opportunity to address the problem of night flights and noise when permission was granted for the redevelopment.  Many Central Bedfordshire residents suffer from this disturbance which is simply not permitted at most other major UK airports.

Luton Borough Council received £11M in dividend income from the airport according to the draft statement of accounts for 2013-2014.

Community public access defibrillators

Following on from discussions earlier in the year, a number of towns and parishes expressed an interest in the community public access defibrillator scheme proposed by Central Bedfordshire in conjunction with Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service.

A total of 34 different sites are due to receive units before the end of December 2014, one of which will be the village hall in Slip End.

Solar farm proposals in East Hyde

I have been sent an invitation by Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd concerning proposals to site a solar farm on land north of Chiltern Green Road in East Hyde.

Deatils of the proposal can be found by following this link and there is to be an information evening tomorrow, Monday 18th August.  It is at East Hyde Village Hall (on the Lower Harpenden Road) between 5:30pm and 8:00pm and is open to all.

Successful prosecution over fly-tip in Slip End

Fly-tipping is an unsightly nuisance and costly for the council to clear away.  It never ceases to amaze me that people think that can hand over a few notes and expect their waste to be dealt with properly by a man in a van who only deals in cash.  Sometimes, there are items left amongst the rubbish that enables the council to trace it back to its original source and, when that happens, a prosecution is pursued.

Details of a recent successful action against a Luton shopkeeper whose rubbish got dumped in Slip End are reported here.

Velocity patching programme

The velocity patching vehicle is due in this area towards the end of August to carry out pothole/patching repairs.  Details of the machine and process are available here.

The roads scheduled are as follows:

East Hyde	Thrales End Road/Lane
	Farrs Lane
	Copt Hall Road
	West Hyde Road
Kensworth	Isle of Wight Lane
	Land Park Lane
	Common Road
	Ridgeway/Plewes Close/Russell Close
	Spratts Lane
	Beech Road
	Hollicks Lane
Studham	Church Road
	Common Road
	Dunstable Road
	Byslips Road
	Buckwood Lane
Caddington	Culworth Close
	Collings Well Close

CBC Chairman's charity

Caroline Maudlin is supporting the Alzheimer's Society as her chosen charity for 2014/2015.

Sunday 24 August - spoilt for choice

There are a number of events being publicised which will take place two weeks from today, on the Sunday immediately before the summer bank holiday.

Caddington once again has its Party On The Green.

This event started in 2012 when Caddington, like so many other places across the country, got together to celebrate the Queen's jubilee.  The party was such a success that it was repeated (without the royal tie-in) in 2013 and looks set to become an annual event.

The gathering runs between 12 noon and 8PM on Caddington Village Green; bring your own food & drink or purchase from the pubs and stalls, and join in the fun.


Secondly, the Red Lion pub in Studham is hoping to repeat the success of their previous live music mini-festival and raise some funds for charity (CLIC Sargent for children with cancer) at the same time.

The Red Lion sits in the village centre of Studham; if the weather is kind then it is a great base from which to enjoy a walk around Studham Common and, whatever the weather, it's also well worth visiting for a drink and perhaps something to eat.

You could also send the kids off to look for the Little Blue Man.


Finally, this is also that date for the annual public opening of Vauxhall's Heritage Centre just off Park Street in Luton.  For anyone who has not been down there before, it is well worth an hour or so of your time; they have a lovingly preserved range of vehicles dating from 1903 up to the present day.  More details are contained in this article taken from the Luton On Sunday.

Individual electoral registration

The system for registering to vote has been changed; you may well receive a letter during the next month.  The core point is that registrations are now made one person at a time rather than the previous system whereby one 'head of household' potentially registered multiple different electors.

More information is available on the Central Bedfordshire website, or you can access a frequently asked questions sheet here.

Junction 10A improvements - watch your speed

I have been reading through the latest e-mail update on the ongoing roadworks.  Regular users of this junction will be aware of narrow lanes and reduced speed limits currently in place to protect the workforce; please be aware that Police are monitoring these limits carefully and they ARE prosecuting drivers who choose not to comply.  You have been warned!

You can get further information and progress updates about the work at luton.gov.uk/m1j10a, where you can also register to receive regular updates by e-mail if y

ou wish.

Central Bedfordshire flying the flag for green spaces

Three open spaces in Central Bedfordshire have been recognised as some of the best community-run green spaces in the country in the National Green Flag Awards 2014/15.

The announcement of this year’s Award-winners came in the same week that thousands of people up and down the country celebrated our country’s fantastic parks and green spaces with Love Parks Week.

Linslade Wood, Studham Common and Flitton Moor have all been awarded with the Community Award for managing and improving the sites for everyone to enjoy, visit, appreciate and use as green spaces for healthy activities and quiet enjoyment. The sites are also carefully managed to help improve them for wildlife and biodiversity.

All three sites are managed by the council, with invaluable help from ‘Friends of’ groups who run work parties, fund raising activities, educational and guided walks and other events.

Cllr Brian Spurr, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities, Services, said: “This is really fantastic news and our thanks go to the ‘Friends of’ groups who have put in so much work to achieve this accolade. Our own Countryside Access team oversee the parks and offer advice, tools, training and support through management plans and so on but we can’t accept these awards without acknowledging the hard graft that many local people put in too."

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Studham Common, a County Wildlife site in south Bedfordshire, has been awarded a Green Flag for the seventh year in a row.  Geoff Shute, Chairman of the Friends group there, said: “We are absolutely delighted that our Common has once again received the recognition it deserves. It is a very precious resource, for people and for wildlife, and we are honoured to play our part in looking after it. The award is a tremendous boost to our morale and will show visitors that the care of this beautiful green space is in good hands.”

Cllr Spurr added: “As a council, we aim to provide high quality green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy across the whole of Central Bedfordshire. These awards are fantastic recognition of the great spaces we have. We hope that people will visit them or a site local to them over the summer and see for themselves.”

The Green Flag Awards are judged by an army of more than 700 volunteer experts who visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including biodiversity, access, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement.

This article is an edited version of an update bulletin from Central Bedfordshire Council.

Summary of July 2014 reported crime figures

It is good to note that none of the six parishes suffered from some of the higher domestic burglary incidences that have been seen in recent times.

Mini motor-bikes continue to show up in the anti-social behaviour incident lists for Caddington and Slip End; there were two separate abandoned vehicles in Hyde and a number of reports of noise, nuisance neighbours or rowdy behaviour in Kensworth.

All Saints Caddington - Lights Out August 04

image courtesy of www.1418now.org.uk

All Saints Church in Caddington will be open for a candlelit vigil between 10PM & 11PM on Monday 04 August 2014 for anyone who wishes to gather together with friends and neighbours to commemorate this important anniversary.

There are many events taking place across the country at the same hour and many significant public buildings will be dark; everyone is invited to turn out their lights, leaving a single light or candle.