National News

Dave Hodgson talks to the Managers from the Litten Tree setting off in a Pink Pedalo along the River Great Ouse for Charity

A Yellow and Blue Shop, and a Pink Pedalo!

You could describe the latter part of this week as a colourful one for me. First, on Thursday morning at 7.45am, I cut the ribbon at the newly refurbished Lidl store on Lurke Street. Despite the early hour, there were plenty of shoppers in attendance, keen to check out the revamped store. It's always welcome when chain stores invest in their Bedford premises - it shows a commitment to trading in the Borough and is evidence that they know that it's in businesses' interests to invest in Bedford. Then, on Friday morning, I went along to support a charity event in aid of an appeal to raise funds for an anesthetising machine for Great Ormond Street children's hospital. The appeal is being supported by the Town and City pub chain, which includes the Litten Tree and the Rose in Bedford, and managers from the Litten Tree are taking part in this event. As well as being an extremely worthy cause, this charity event is remarkable for the fact that it involves a pink pedalo being powered from Town Bridge in Bedford all t

25 Jun 2011
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Update on Jesmond Towers (formerly La Sagesse)

Shepherd Offshore recently unveiled their current proposals for the development of the Jesmond Towers Estate (formerly La Sagesse School). No formal planning application has yet been submitted however and the Council's planning department have indicated that they have reservations about what is currently planned.

24 Jun 2011
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Value for Money

Good Housekeeping! Council Comes in Within Budget

I chaired a meeting of the Council's Executive at Borough Hall on Wednesday night where, amongst a range of matters including the Council's use of surveillance powers, the Borough's Community Safety Strategy and the outcome of petitions over the past year, we considered a report which confirmed that the Council came in at 1.6% within its agreed budget for 2010/11. This is obviously very important news, as putting together a balanced budget is only half the job; staying within that budget is vital. Any overspend can be extremely costly for local taxpayers, and that is why it is essential that sound financial management is in place to control spending. We took effective, swift action to deal with the inevitable pressures and unforeseen challenges that came our way. This week's news is a testament to the work that went in all year round to keep Council spending on track from everyone involved, from Finance Portfolio holder Cllr Michael Headley and Cabinet colleagues to staff across the organisation for their wor

24 Jun 2011
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