Proposed traffic order when A5 becomes A5183

Central Bedfordshire Council is publishing and consulting on proposed traffic orders. These relate to speed limit orders and clearway (prohibition of stopping) in connection with the construction of the A5-M1 Link Road; locally, this will affect a stretch of the main road which forms part of the boundary between Kensworth and Caddington parishes.

The documents providing more information are available by clicking this link. If you wish to make any comments, they should be submitted in writing as explained in the public notice.

In essence, nothing will change.  When the road is detrunked, it will no longer be under the control of Highways England and their previous traffic orders will be revoked; this simply puts a comparable order in place when the road comes under the control of Central Bedfordshire.

Rural roadside verges

Grass on rural roadside verges (that is, areas outside of 30mph / 40 mph limits) is being cut less frequently than it used to be.  Whilst there is obviously a beneficial cost implication, the main motivation is to preserve the areas which promote pollinating insects.

 
However, it was always intended that where there are vision splay issues, the grass would be cut according to the normal schedule.  If there are rural locations where long grass is causing visibility issues, then please log a report with CBC or contact me with the precise location and I will pass it on.

Falsified payslips lead to court appearance

Falsifying payslips to illegally claim £2,300 in Council Tax Support has cost a Central Bedfordshire woman more than that amount when she appeared in court.  According to her declared earnings, Katherine Roberts, of Swift Close, Sandy has been paying a lower rate of Council Tax for over two years.

However, a comparison of the figures she supplied to Central Bedfordshire Council with the details of her earnings held on the HM Revenues and Customs database revealed a significant discrepancy.
The Council’s fraud investigators subsequently established that between April 2013 and October 2015 the 43-year-old had provided 14 falsified payslips showing significantly less than what she actually earned.

After pleading guilty to 9 charges of supplying false information to the Council, Roberts was sentenced at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 9 June.

She was handed a 12 weeks’ custodial sentence suspended for 12 months, with a requirement to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £686.65 and a victim surcharge of £80.00. Roberts also had to repay all of the Council Tax Support which she claimed illegally.

Sentencing her, the Magistrates said that they believed the offences were serious and sophisticated enough to cross a custody threshold. They felt that a substantial degree of planning must have gone into producing false payslips.

Councillor Richard Wenham, Executive Member for Corporate Resources, said: “Council Tax Support is there to help hard-working people who need it to cope financially; it is not there to be abused in order to top up your income.  “By fraudulently claiming you rob the council and Council Tax payers of money that would otherwise have been spent on vital public services.”

If you believe that someone is illegally claiming Council Tax Support then contact the council at benefitfraud@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk  or call the council's confidential 24-hour telephone hotline on 0300 300 5476

Temporary road closure, Buckwood Lane

There has been a request submitted for an emergency temporary road closure at Buckwood Lane to enable work on the ditches, gullies & grips.

The times and dates notified are that the closure will be effective 09:00 on Monday 06 June 2016 through to 15:30 on Thursday 10 June.2016; limited access may be allowed at certain times according to signage.

Proposed temporary road closure

Slip End needs two new Parish Councillors

Due to one retirement and one house move, Slip End find themselves with two vacancies on the Parish Council.

The clerk [Peter Segal] can be contacted via clerk@slipend.co.uk .