Brickhill Liberal Democrats
Brickhill News
Brickhill Parish Council
The September meeting of Brickhill Parish Council agreed a contribution of £1,000 towards a barrier for Mowsbury Car Park. This follows campaigning by Lib Dem councillors to reslove the problems faced by residents of noise late into the night from cars in the car park
Community safety
The Community safety Forum, working with the Bedfordshire Police have identified the following as objectives to be tackled in Brickhill
- Reduction of burglaries in Brickhill
- Fire Service Safety Checks
- Mowsbury Park Car Park
These priorities were set at the Community Safety Forum on 16th July 2009. The next meeting is 7.30pm Thursday 8 October at Sir William Harpur House.
Our local police have stated the following
Reduction of house burglaries: We will be looking to put in place a number of measures to help reduce the number of burglaries. These will include high visibility patrols with Operation Cocoon and the introduction of Smartwater to the victim’s address. We will look at starting or reviving Neighbourhood Watch schemes. Agencies will be brought in as appropriate to look at the design of the area and antisocial behavior contracts will be issued if necessary. Fire Service Safety Checks: Fire checks will be offered to homes in streets selected by the Brickhill Joint Action Group. The Fire Service will attend homes and complete a safety talk and supply free smoke detectors as appropriate. Mowsbury Park: Mowsbury Park car park is again being plagued by noisy vehicles. Although not in Brickhill this issue has a knock on effect within the neighbourhood. High visibility policing patrols will be put in place and together with Parish Councillors we will try to get a barrier at the entrance installed.
Environmental charity Groundwork has announced that the Waveney Avenue Natural Play project in Brickhill, Bedford will be one of the ‘Adventure on your doorstep’ projects supported by over £380,000 of funding from WREN, a not-for-profit business that awards grants to community projects. The new play site will be designed to encourage children to learn about and appreciate the natural environment, and the opportunities for play and imagination that this provides, as well as developing new landscape design solutions to take account of climate change impacts such as increased temperatures and flooding.
Nine other natural play sites across the UK will benefit from WREN’s funding, which comes from environmental taxes paid by landfill operator Waste Recycling Group (WRG). Over the coming months Groundwork Luton and South Bedfordshire will be working in partnership with Bedford Borough Council, Brickhill Parish Council and the local community to design natural play facilities for the open space on Waveney Avenue.
Consultation events will be taking place in local schools and on the site itself on Thursday 27 August to give local residents and children and young people in particular a chance to contribute to the designs. The project is also likely to receive funding from Bedford Borough Council’s Playbuilder fund. . Work on the new play site is expected to start in early 2010. Rather than just being a traditional play area with swings and slides, it will be developed to include natural elements of the landscape such as land forms, boulders, mounds, trees and bushes to encourage imaginative play activities and a sense of adventure and wonder in the natural world. This more naturalised approach to design will also enhance the biodiversity of the sites, encouraging butterflies, bugs and birds, adding to the natural experience, encouraging the interaction of young people with the outdoors and leading to a wider appreciation of the natural environment. The inclusion into these areas of longer grass, trees, shrubs and shelter will also assist with developing spaces to combat climate change.
Debbie Vidler of Groundwork Luton and South Bedfordshire said: “Groundwork is delighted to have secured this funding from WREN and to be working in partnership with Bedford Borough Council which will allow us to develop what we’re sure will be an exciting new facility for the Brickhill community” Mike Snell, General Manager of External Affairs for WRG said: “We and our friends at WREN believe in the valuable role open spaces and play areas have in helping create healthy communities. Groundwork’s Adventure on your Doorstep campaign is a fantastic way of encouraging children to engage with nature and the environment in a fun and educational way providing hours of free entertainment.“
Councillor Charles Royden said “Bedford Borough Council is pleased to be working on this project. It’s great to see that these play facilities will be developed to maximise the bio-diversity of the local environment and that the local community, in particular local children, will be involved in its design.” Waveney Avenue Natural Play project is just one of a nationally coordinated programme of play spaces. ‘Adventure of your doorstep’ promotes adventure and environmental responsibility by using natural materials and settings and that contribute to regeneration by providing new community facilities in areas of need, adjacent to nine different WRG landfill site locations.
Campaigning for Brickhill Roads
Lib Dem Borough Councillors Wendy Rider and Charles Royden are campaigning for this stretch of Kimbolton Road to be repaired. Whilst the water drain has remained at the same height, over the years the road has sunk causing a sever bump in the road.
Choice Based Lettings in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire Homefinder the new choice based lettings scheme for council and housing association properties in Bedfordshire has gone live with the commencement of the first bidding cycle. The scheme aims to gives more choice about where applicants on the Housing Register can live. ‘Bids’ can be made by phone, text or on-line.
Bedford Borough Council, Central Beds Council, BPHA and Aragon Housing Association have formed a partnership to launch Bedfordshire Homefinder, the new way of letting social housing across the County. Luton Borough Council will be joining the scheme later this year. To view the website and properties currently being advertised on-line, click on the link www.bedfordshirehomefinder.co.uk
Overtime all properties advertised will have a photograph against the property description. Every two weeks, properties needing new tenants are advertised on this website. Applicants must be registered with the scheme to participate. Anyone can apply to the scheme provided they are aged 16 years old or more. If accepted onto the scheme, an applicant’s level of priority for housing will be assessed and households are placed in one of four Bands. An applicant’s priority will affect the chances of being housed. For more information on Bedfordshire Homefinder please view www.bedfordshirehomefinder.co.uk
Traffic through Brickhill set to increase
Proposed weight restrictions by the County Council for the north of Bedford could cause hundreds of lorries to drive along Avon Drive and Brickhill Drive. Lib Dem councillors are opposing the plans which are ill conceived, not forming part of a necessary wider consultation on the detrimental affects placed on other areas, particularly Brickhill. Clearly such a piecemeal restriction will adversely impact upon the residents of Brickhill. Inevitably the consequences will be additional pressure on the already strained roads around Kimbolton Road, Avon Drive and Brickhill Drive. These roads will see increased traffic and they are already badly served with lack of such basic and fundamentally important safety features as safe crossing places. Given the large number of schools served in this area we believe that there are serious safety concerns. We are particularly disappointed at the lack of consultation with local Councillors or the Brickhill Parish Council. Clearly there has been no attempt to engage with the local community, which will be impacted by this scheme. In view of this it is unworthy of those responsible to have pursued the matter this far and a clear breach of professional responsibility towards the public. We have strongly requested that this proposal be cancelled immediately and a more professional approach adopted which engages the wider community.
Graffitti
Graffiti Graffiti Graffiti is a menace, it makes our streets and neighbourhoods look dreadful and contributes to a general running down of the area. There has been quite a lot recently and we want to crack down on offenders and and have it removed as quickly as possible. Bedford Borough Council will arrange for the removal of graffiti subject to the owner giving permission. This means that if you have graffiti on your property we need you to seek to have it removed. If you do have graffiti on your property, please get in touch and we will be pleased to give you a freepost card which can be signed and sent by you to the Borough Council to give permission for removal. Call the graffiti team at Bedford Borough Council 0800 121 8888
Street Champions
Street Champions is a new volunteer scheme headed by Pride in Bedford to encourage residents to take a more active role in their community. As a Street Champions you will become the ‘eyes and ears’ of Bedford’s streets, informing the Council of environmental issues as they arise. All Champions are provided with an A-Z ringbinder that will give you the necessary information to report any issues that affect your street. In return for your help, we promise to activate the appropriate action as quickly as we can and also feed back to you our response.
By becoming a Street Champion you can put something back into the community and help put things right. It's simple and easy, all you have to do is tell us about your concerns ranging from refuse collection, abandoned cars, damaged street lights to graffiti, litter and noise and we will do the rest.
Street Champion Aims
- To encourage the public to play an active role in their local area.
- To build respect in local communities and to reduce anti social behaviour.
- Encourage communities to monitor the cleanliness and maintenance of local streets and parks.
- Reduce crime and the fear of crime.
What do you get as a champion?
Once you have signed up, we will send you all you need to get started. This will include the Handbook, a notepad for jotting down issues and a selection of leaflets. The Handbook is a A5 ring binder. The main part, is an A-Z section covering issues and organisations that are concerned with local environmental quality. Each entry gives you the information needed to learn about and contact the relevant organisation. As well as the A-Z section, there are also sections on waste, local government and land ownership. You will also get an equipment request form. From this you can order certain items to help you make a difference in your area. These things will include graffiti removal wipes and litter picking equipment.
Read the street Champion leaflet
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.