CBC Highways - information sheet on resurfacing

Householder travel survey

The transport strategy team at CBC are undertaking a householder travel survey of Central Bedfordshire residents; this will take place over the next month and is intended to help them understand how people travel and the rationale behind their travel choices.  

A randomly selected sample of 2,000 residents will be contacted by a market research company called Public Perspectives who are helping to gather this information through a telephone based survey, between Friday 25 April 2014 and Tuesday 20 May 2014.

It will be the third such survey undertaken in Central Beds and will further help inform the evidence base to ensure the targeting of the right transport investment priorities. It also allows transport planners to see the strategic impact of investment over time to see how travel behaviour and attitudes are changing.

If you receive a call regarding the travel survey, but feel you would like some reassurance regarding its authenticity, or have any other general queries regarding the survey, you can contact the transport strategy team through the usual CBC switchboard or website.

Local Government Association comments on CCTV parking ban

An interesting piece in the latest issue of "first" magazine, distributed by the Local Government Association.

reproduced from "first" magazine 26-Apr-2014

Caddington road closures

Dunstable Road in Caddington is scheduled for surface dressing on Thursday 08 May and Friday 09 May, subject to favourable weather.  There may be road closures and limited access between the hours of 09:00 and 15:30 on those days and vehicles should not be left parked on the highway.

Chaul End Road in Caddington is scheduled for drainage works in the week commencing Monday 12 May; this will also necessitate road closures.

There will be signage and publicity as appropriate.  These two projects are being co-ordinated in order that we do NOT have both roads subject to closure at the same time.

CBC scores well on lower/primary school allocations

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Central Bedfordshire has scored amongst the best in the country for being able to satisfy a significant proportion of parents' first choices for schools in the lower/primary allocations released today.

Daily Telegraph, 17 April 2014

Bin collections unchanged over Easter holiday

We just wanted to remind you that bin collections stay the same over the Easter weekend. We will be out collecting as normal on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Check which days we collect waste, including garden waste on our website.

You bin and bags need to be out by 7am and taken back in as soon as possible after collection.

Our tidy tips will be open as normal this weekend too - if you are thinking of a clear out over the long weekend.

Annual Parish meetings

Each Parish Council within the ward also holds an annual parish meeting (this is a legal requirement) around this time of year.  My colleague Richard Stay attended Studham last week and we were both at Kensworth last week and then Caddington last night.  Others are still to come before the end of May.

Parish meetings are a great opportunity to take a look back at what has been happening in the area over the last year and what is being planned for the future.  This applies not just to the local parish council, but there are also sometimes presentations from CBC Councillors, the Police, local schools and other organizations.

It was good to see several members of the public at these meetings.

Studham consider a neighbourhood plan

Two meetings were held in Studham recently, one on a Saturday morning and one on a weekday evening, to discuss Neighbourhood Planning and whether this could be of benefit to Studham.

The aim of neighbourhood planning is to enable detailed planning guidance to be prepared at a very local level; it is an excellent opportunity for communities to take an active role in the future development of the places they care so much about.

The overwhelming consensus was that this could be an exciting way forward for Studham.  The Parish Council will be the qualifying body which puts legal weight behind the plan but it is by no means just a Parish Council exercise.  A steering group will be formed and will function best if it contains a truly representative cross-section of Studham residents.  I would encourage everyone within the parish to keep an eye on the noticeboards and parish council website, and get involved when they can.