Dunstable News Desk

Central Bedfordshire Council's Medium Term Financial Plan includes an efficiency of £300k for the financial year 2022/23 to be delivered by increasing car parking charges in Council owned and managed car parks in Central Bedfordshire. The Council understands residents and businesses will be concerned about the proposal to increase car parking fees and charges and its potential impact on local areas. A report produced for Tuesday's Executive meeting sought and gained approval to undertake a 12-week public consultation about the proposed changes to parking charges to ensure the Council provides residents and businesses the opportunity to see the detail of the proposed increase in fees and charges and provide an opportunity for them to have their say about what the Council is proposing and make suggestions about other options that they can consider. Watch proceedings as they were discussed on Tuesday: Executive - Tuesday, 3rd August 2021 at 9:30am - Central Bedfordshir

Watch: Executive - Tuesday, 3rd August 2021 at 9:30am - Central Bedfordshire Council Webcasting In 2017 Central Bedfordshire Council committed itself to tackling a range of historic and ongoing issues on the Greenacres and The Stables traveller sites in Billington including the challenges of regulating these sites with the current planning permissions in place. The site has changed considerably since the original permissions were granted and to be able to regulate the sites effectively both from a planning and licensing perspective and achieve the aims agreed by Executive in 2017 new planning permissions were recommended along with investment in the site infrastructure. A range of options have been considered to make the sites safe, compliant with planning and licensing regulations, well maintained and well managed and accessible to the authorities and the most viable long-term option is a successful planning application. Next steps are for the planning application to be de

Want to find out how your neighbourbood fared? Just enter your postcode in the box below: Find out more about this information from the ONS online

Central Bedfordshire Council has announced a new initiative to encourage active lifestyles and help residents to discover and explore their local areas, parks and green spaces by walking, running or cycling by using a fun new game.  Launching on 1 August 2021, Street Tag is a fun, free, family-friendly game that enables players to collect points by using their smartphones to scan virtual tags. The tags can be found in various locations across Central Bedfordshire, including in areas surrounding parks and open spaces, libraries, leisure centres and other areas of interest.  The app will log any activity completed by participants, and it will show on a range of competitive community and school leader boards.  Schools will have the opportunity to compete in a local Central Bedfordshire Schools Street Tag League, while residents in small groups of six or less will compete against other families or groups on a Community Leader Board.  Leader boards are active for 14-16 weeks and within

Central Bedfordshire Council highways team received a petition that reached 100 signatures for a zebra crossing to be provided in Chiltern Road Dunstable in the vicinity of Union Street.  At a Traffic Management meeting held today, Cllr Collins, the substitute chairman, and Executive member of Central Bedfordshire Council approved the recommendations today. He expressed the hope that the scheme will go ahead quickly. Dunstable Northfields Councillor Johnson Tamara told the meeting that at times he could be waiting 7 to 8 minutes to cross the road. The speed limit on Chiltern Road is currently 20mph and residents have made complaints that vehicles travel much faster than the speed limit along this stretch of road. There are various parking restrictions and yellow lines around the site and also some speed humps. Where there are no restrictions vehicles park half on and off the pavement. The approved recommendations: 1.accept the petition; 2.for the location be added t

A man from Dunstable has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for raping and sexually assaulting a young girl. Matthew Husband , 29, from Bolsover, Chesterfield, who lived in Dunstable at the time of the incident , was sentenced at The Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday (22 July), after being found guilty by a majority verdict of rape and sexual assault. On 23 February last year, Husband gave the girl alcohol and believing she was incapacitated, sexually assaulted and then raped her. The victim reported the incident immediately and Husband was arrested shortly after. In her personal statement, the victim said, “Sometimes I get so sad and scared I don’t want to leave my bedroom or talk to anyone. I am so uncomfortable in a room full of people whether I know them or not. I am too scared to trust anyone.  “But I am trying to get better because I won’t let him continue to ruin my life and my future, and although I am struggling, I will keep on trying.” PC Benjamin Rober