This week the detailed examination of the local plan by the Planning Inspector kicks off at Chicksands – what does it mean for Biggleswade? WHAT IS THE LOCAL PLAN?The government has set a target for the number of new homes needed across Central Beds and the local plan seeks to provide a blueprint for where those homes should go and ensures consideration has been given to sustainability and infrastructure. Once a piece of land has been earmarked for development in the local plan its much harder to object to planning applications successfully. Biggleswade has been identified as a ‘strategic site’ and space for around 5000 homes has been identified in…
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EDWARD PEAKE SCHOOL CROSSING
I have been contacted by many concerned residents and parents about the lack of a school crossing patrol at Edward Peake School. CBC have tried appoint someone to this job but sadly a few days before the start of the new term the candidate decided not to take up the post. It seems that people are not particularly interested in taking on the role, and that is not just specific to Biggleswade. CBC now have a rolling advertisement for permanent and standby school crossing patrol staff throughout the county. Although it has been re-advertised and there was some initial interest in the position at Edward Peake no one has accepted the…
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YELLOW LINES ON KINGS REACH
Many of you have told me that there are lots of speeding, parking and visibility issues on and around Kings Reach so I wanted to share this plan showing where yellow lines are soon to be added (in most cases returned as they were there before the road was resurfaced). I realise this won’t solve all of the issues but hopefully this will bring some improvements.
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IVEL GARDENS POTHOLE REPAIR
This morning I noticed a thread on WLB about a very poor pothole repair in Ivel Gardens by resident Jeremy Wallace who also posted the pics below. I contacted CBC immediately (7am – my earliest e.mail yet!) and they promised to look into it. It was great to get an e.mail just over an hour later informing me that this was a temporary repair as parked cars prevented the work being done. It will now be completed next week and ‘No parking’ cones will be placed on the road to ensure they have full access. Other people were also mentioning other roads with issues so I have asked them to…
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SPEEDING ON BADEN POWELL WAY, KINGS REACH.
I wanted to update residents on my progress on speeding in Baden Powell Way after several useful communications with CBC. The main issue preventing the installation of any speed restrictions is that Baden Powell Way is currently still owned by the developers and has yet to be adopted by CBC. Adoption of the road is imminent but linked to the new 1500 home development to the East of the road. I have made enquiries about the timescale and deterrents that might be implemented until the road is adopted and I am meeting with the Highways Officer next week to discuss this further. Given the speed of cars detected in the…
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THE BAULK ONE WAY SYSTEM
The temporary one way system on The Baulk has been in place since the bridge repairs and is a mish-mash of sandbags and temporary signs that are confusing and often result in people going the wrong way. I have now confirmed with CBC that works will begin in June to make this one way system permanent. Attached are the plans although the island at Drove Rd/The Baulk will be slightly reduced in the revised (Final) drawings next week to facilitate turning movements for the end property access. This is much needed progress for The Baulk residents and the town as a whole.
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Traffic lights outside the Yorkshire Grey, London Road repaired.
One of the traffic lights outside the Yorkshire Grey has been broken for quite a while, despite being previously reported by a resident. I suspect they broke again soon after a repair. I reported this to Central Bedfordshire Council and it was repaired by Tuesday evening. They seem to have remained working since then.
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WE WON – THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES!
Firstly, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to every single one of you that voted for me on May 2nd. I have been incredibly touched by your congratulatory e.mails, messages, tweets, likes and very kind comments so thank you for taking the time to get in touch. I said many times on the doorstep that we expected it would be very close and in the end just 211 votes separated the top three candidates. As a result my first ever count was a very nerve-wracking experience indeed and I’m relieved we knew the result so early in the day as many other wards took much longer. An…