Cheering Volunteering

There are so many volunteer groups carrying out excellent work across Central Bedfordshire.

Please follow this link for details on a special awards event due to take place on 02 June 2015, how you can nominate an individual or a group who you feel deserve recognition and how you can secure a free ticket to the event.

Council tax bands for 2015/2016

The importance of chipping your dog

In October last year, I became aware of a Leighton Buzzard family who were desperate to find their missing pet, a whippet called Jasper.

Now, nearly six months later, I am delighted to note that there has been a surprise happy ending to this story.  The following text is reproduced from the facebook page of the Heath Veterinary Clinic in Hurstpierpoint (some distance from Leighton Buzzard!):

"Jasper is a Whippet who was brought into our Hurstpierpoint Clinic on Thursday 12th March after he had been found wandering nearby by a member of the public.

Rhian, one of our vets, checked him over and scanned him for a microchip and it was discovered that he was registered to an address in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire and had been reported missing/stolen in September 2014. In the meantime Jasper had been sold to a woman who had looked after him for the last 3 months."

For those of you that use facebook, there is a page about Jasper here, including a video of the happy dog being reunited with his owners.

My reason for posting - apart from it generally being a nice story - is to reinforce the importance of having your cats and dogs microchipped.  Jasper's microchip is the reason he was able to be reunited with his rightful owners.

Public exhibition for A5-M1 Link and Woodside Link

A public exhibition informing residents of the type of work that will take place during the construction of the Highways Agency’s A5-M1 Link and Central Bedfordshire Council’s connecting Woodside Link is being held this week over two days.

On Friday 13 March the Highways Agency’s ‘A5-M1 Link Start of Works Exhibition’ visits Chalton Village Hall (2pm to 8pm), and on Saturday 14 March it moves to The Incuba, Dunstable (10am to 4pm). Project team members will be available to answer questions and queries.

Construction of the Woodside Link begins in spring 2015.

Cllr Nigel Young, Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Regeneration, said: “The Highways Agency’s A5-M1 Link and Central Bedfordshire Council’s Woodside Link are important pieces in the area’s regeneration jigsaw - reducing congestion and bringing jobs, investment and new homes. The exhibition highlights these benefits and usefully unpacks construction plans.”

Training re. new defibrillators in Slip End

Information courtesy of Cllr Sarah Minnighan, Slip End Parish Council

There are now two AED defibrillators installed in Slip End Parish, one at the Village Hall and one at the Peter Edwards Hall. 

There is a free training session running tonight, Friday 13th March 2015, at The Village Hall from 7.00 pm for approximately 90 minutes.  It's open to everyone, please do pop along if you can.

For more information on AED defibrillators check out the Community Heartbeat Trust website.

Police precept increase

There has been some confusion as to the timing of this increase; I do not intend to explore the arguments for and against the increase here, this note is just to try and explain  the billing arrangements.

The Police set their own precept but the local authorities actually collect it, hence it is shown as a separate line item on your council tax bill.  For Bedfordshire Police, the collection will be via Central Beds, Luton Borough or Bedford Borough according to where you live.

The Police & Crime Commissioner has put forward two budgets, one reflecting a 15.8% increase (which triggers a referendum) and one reflecting a 1.99% increase (which does not).

The Council Tax bills currently being delivered and which form the basis for the amounts collected from you starting April are based upon the first, larger budget.  You will therefore pay the increased amount in April and May ahead of the referendum actually taking place.

If the referendum delivers a yes vote and approves the increase, then the billing continues unchanged.  If the referendum delivers a no vote then the first budget can no longer be used and the second automatically takes its place.  Council tax bills will be reissued and your remaining payments for 2015/16 will recognise the increased amounts already paid in April and May, with subsequent payments reduced accordingly.

These arrangements have followed on from government regulations, they were not the decision of either the Police & Crime Commissioner or the local authorities.

The above note is given in good faith to try and explain the situation - it does not purport to be definitive legal advice and does not constitute a statement on behalf of Beds Police or any local authority.

February crime figures

Summarised from Beds Police reports

Studham's recent "crime free" run has been broken by two recorded instances of criminal damage last month.  The Kensworth figures are particularlty unpleasant reading, although I believe that the Police are aware of and attempting to monitor certain known repeated issues.

A recurrent theme in Whipsnade is vehicle crime, which is almost always incidents in the car parks near the tree cathedral or the common.  Please remember to make sure vehicles are secure and no valuables are left visible when visiting these popular spots.

The Slip End vehicle crimes were all instances of parts being removed from vehicles, and the criminal damage also related to a car.  Please note that these are calendar monthly figures, so the incident on March 1st is not included above.