Brickhill Liberal Democrats
Welcome to the website of Brickhill Liberal Democrats. We hope that these pages explain the work which we are doing to help our local community, as well as providing other helpful information. If there is something further which you would like to know, just contact us direct and we will be pleased to help in any way that we can. Contact information is shown below.
Surgery dates
We look forward to meeting with you at our forthnightly surgeries, no need to book just turn up. We will be pleased to help with any matters of concern to you.
- 28 April Avon Drive Shops
- 12 May Brickhill Drive Shops
Download the 2012 Calendar
Important dates and telelphone numbers for your information. Handy to keep, click here
20mph Zone for Tyne Crescent
We have campaigned for a 20mph zones and following allocation of our ward funding, consideration is now being given to this in Brickhill. The area concerned will include outside St Thomas More School, Tyne Crescent and Wansbeck Road. A map can be viewed here. Speed trials will be conducted by the Borough Council during March to assess what speeds are currently reached by vehicles in these areas. Of course speed limits are only any good if they can be enforced and Mayor Dave Hodgson has already committed the Borough Council to using moveable wireless average speed cameras across the Borough. These could be used in a road such as Tyne Crescent to effectively control speeds
View the proposed 20mph speed zone for Brickhill
Borough Councillor Report April 2012
Read the latest information provided to the Brickhill Parish Council in our April 2012 Borough Councillors report.
Pot Hole Hit Squad
The squad is dedicated to ridding Bedford of Pot Holes and they have been working across Brickhill. Read more here If you see a pithole then please call the Pot Hole Hit Squad on 01234 718003
Flooding in Avon Drive
There has been flooding of the subway during May, this was caused by a broken pump and it took several weeks to obtain the replacement. It was pumped daily by the Borough Council to try and keep clear.
Bedford Borough Council Summer Courses for 2012 for young people
As well as the summer Play & Games schemes programme (5 – 14 years) that we will be starting to promote towards the end of May (leaflets and poster information to follow), we are also delivering a programme of around 50 sports coaching / activity courses for young people (6 – 15 years) during the 2012 summer holiday period
Click here to download the brochure.
Verge Parking
We have received many requests to prosecute those who park vehicles on verges and pavements. As local councillors we believe that verge parking causes damage to the grass and it also damages cables in the verges, sometimes leading to costly repairs of telephone and fibre optic cables.
We are taking action against verge parking by installing trees, bollards and implementing restrictions. The most recent requests include implementing no verge parking in Plover Way and Brickhill Drive. You can find out more by clicking here
Brickhill Buses
There are serious safety issues for the Stagecaoch buses accessing the Woodlands estate. The Borough Council is considering the building of a new roundabout at the end of the estate to allow the bus to turn. When the route and service type has been decided we will work to ensure that adequate bus stops are provide along the route
If you have any comments about this new bus service we would be delighted to hear from you and we will be monitoring this and the existing service to ensure that the best possible public transport provision is made for residents.
Street Light replacement programme - Plover Way
As part of our carbon reduction commitment we have a strategy for reducing the carbon emissions contributed by our street lighting lanterns. This strategy involves the replacement of depreciated, inefficient, high maintenance lanterns with new, energy efficient, low maintenance lanterns.
We are in the process of extending this strategy throughout the Borough and Brickhill is one of a number of areas that will see the existing orange glow (SOX) lights replaced with the new PL-L white light lanterns. The scheme will aim to reduce carbon emissions, energy costs and maintenance costs. As part of the works all columns will be renumbered with new Bedford Borough Council identification tags to ensure the data is seamless with our inventory records; these will display the unit number and the helpdesk contact details.Generally the lanterns being replaced are mercury and the replacements are to be fluorescent.
A number of street lights in Plover Way and Curlew Crescent are being replaced. There are delays getting the new columns connected to the mains supply, so for the time being the old columns are still there along with new columns – it seems that this work may not be completed until after March. Columns affected are: Plover Way Nos. 6, 8 and 12; Curlew Crescent Nos. 11, 12, 16 and 19.
Waveney Green
Brickhill Parish Council has taken a 99 year lease on Waveney Green. This is because we all want to make sure that it stays green and is not used for further development. Call us suspicious, but when dropped kerbs are left at the end of roads leading onto green areas - we think further development is being considered. Look what happend in Westrope Way and Tyne Crescent !We have already seen the green built on in the last 15 years - we don't want any more To read more click here
Call your Liberal Democrat Councillors for help and advice
Borough Councillor Charles Royden The Vicarage, Calder Rise, Brickhill. MK41 7UY
Tel: 01234 309175 Email: charlesroyden@gmail.com
Borough Councillor Wendy Rider 23 Orwell Close, Brickhill. MK41 7BQ Tel: 01234 303254 Email: wendyrider41@gmail.com
Click here for details of all Brickhill Lib Dem Councillors
Making Brickhill’s roads safer
Speeding traffic remains a problem in many parts of Brickhill. Traffic
congestion near schools is a long-running problem. We continue to work
with all the local schools, to make travel to school safer.
The new CCTV enforcement car in Dove Road with Wendy Rider,
Borough Parking Officer, Charles Royden and Mark Fitzpatrick
With Mayor Dave Hodgson, the Borough Council and the Police we have taken
enforcement action against illegal parking outside schools; we found that
the deterrent only works when the Police and parking enforcement staff are
present. A new initiative from the Liberal Democrat-led Borough Council is
the introduction of a special vehicle that will record the number plates
of cars parked illegally, which will result in fines being issued. We hope
this initiative to have a big impact, making it safer for children to get
to and from school.
Again working with Mayor Dave Hodgson, we are also tackling the backlog of
maintenance of our local roads. Where possible we are getting roads
resurfaced. If we can’t get them resurfaced we are aiming to get them
patched to a much better quality than ever before.
We hope the above notes give you some idea of the practical measures we
are taking to make Brickhill safer for all its residents.
Clapham Park Wood
We have asked for work to beging in haste to progress the nature reserve and planting of trees across the North of Brickhill. Plasn ahave been prepared for this work which should be completed as a part of the S106 agreement from planning. You may view copies of the plans here - please note this is a very large file and will take time to download. You may also see copies at St Mark's Church Community Centre.
Read the Latest FOCUS
Read the latest Focus Special
Council Tax Bands
Council Tax Re-Banding- Shouldn’t Cost A Penny
We have been made aware of a number of residents being contacted by companies who are offering to look at their Council Tax band for a fee and save them money by lowering the band. A large number of people have been contacted in Brickhill, especially in the Tyne Crescent area. This is a serious concern for us as your local ward Councillors and we would like to let you know that it shouldn’t cost you a penny. The Valuation Office Agency(VOA) set the rates for all properties, valued by the VOA based on their open market value as at 1 April 1991.
The best way to get your Council Tax banding reviewed FOR FREE is to contact the VOA direct. This can be done via their website: www.voa.gov.uk or by telephone on: 0845 602 1507
We are also aware that some residents have been very disappointed after a review has taken place, exercise caution as the tax band can go up as well as down! We would also advise that you should have good reason to give money away to a company that promises something you can get yourself for free.
If you have had any experience on this matter recently then we would be interested to hear from you, please tell us using the contact details below. For more information visit our website www.puttingbrickhillfirst.com.
If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other issue, then please feel free to contact, or speak with us at our regular surgeries
Great News on Preserving our Green Spaces
Play facilities Brickhill Green
The new play facilities have now opened on the green along Avon Drive outside Brickhill Lower School. We are delighted with these new facilities for Brickhill. They have resulted in close co-operation between Borough, Brickhill Parish Council and Groundwork. We are delighted with the results and a large crowd came to the official opening on 21 May
No More Bricks in Brickhill Success
We greatly appreciate the efforts of our Mayor Dave Hodgson, as none of the green spaces in Brickhill have been agreed for additional housing development. Not only has the Mayor removed Mowsbury Park from the plans for development, we have also seen Freemans Common and Jackmans Farm taken out. This is exciting news for Brickhill and a vindication of our 'No More Bricks in Brickhill Campaign'
What is that smell?
We have been asked by residents to investigate the smell which is powerfully affecting homes in Brickhill at the moment. We have been working with Borough Council officers and can confirm that it is pig muck spreading, the latest case being on fields north of Milton Ernest. We have been told by residents that it is coming from Biogen and we can confirm that this is not the case. Biogen are regulated by the Environment Agency.
There are issues relating to the spreading of manure like this and the operator has to show that they are conforming to 'Best Practicable Means,' in the code of practice issued by Defra. We are informed that there is no reason to suspect at present that this is not the case. We are continuing to investigate and will keep you posted on progress.
Helpful documents relating to this issue
Street lights and bollards.
We have recently managed to have the bollards illuminated at the entrance to the Woodland Estate. This was in the hands of the builidng contractors and not the Borough Council, which caused a long delay. However we did eventually manage to get them connected. We are now trying to make sure every street light and traffic light in brickhill is illuminated at night and not during the day! Please help us by telling us of any lights near you which are not working.
Parking on verges
We have been contacted by many residents concerned about cars parking on verges. Residents are concerned to know about the legality of cars parking on verges and what action the Borough Council can take to prevent damage to grass verges.
Parking on grass verges has emerged as a persistent problem across the Borough Council, with complaints about the unsightly state of verges, and severe damage which often results in safety issues. Often these complaints are associated with requests for the erection of posts or repair to the verges. Verge parking can also create a hazard to other motorists, especially if the vehicle is parked on a bend, narrow road or junction. People often park on verges because there are insufficient safe and convenient parking spaces available off-street and on the road. However, grass verges are not robust enough to support the weight of cars. Not only will the movement of vehicles cause unsightly ruts and mud, but vehicles may also damage underground pipes or cables. Parking on verges may also reduce access for street cleansing; impede maintenance works; obstruct road users from entering and leaving properties; and increase costs to the council if we need to carryout repairs or other measures deemed necessary to prevent verge parking.
Dangerous parking outside Schools
Thank you to those residents who have contacted us to report concerns about the dangerous parking in Dove Road. On Wednesday 10 February Mayor Dave Hodgson joined a co-ordinated operation with police and traffic wardens in Dove Road, Brickhill. The problem of dangerous parking was highlighted in the recent Community Safety Forum as one of the top issues of concern for residents. The week previously a child from St Thomas More had been hit by a car outside the school, where vehicles had been parked unlawfully. Mayor Dave Hodgson said,
'This is not just about illegal parking this is anti social behaviour of the most serious kind because it places the lives of our children in danger.’
Read more news about issues affecting Brickhill
If you have any comments please email us
Liberal Democrat Councillor Surgery. Bedford Central Library,
every Saturday, 2pm-3:30pm. All welcome, just turn up.