Dunstable News Desk

Grove Theatre - What's On - Music - Dunstable http://www.grovetheatre.co.uk/type/live-music/ Bye Bye Baby -  The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 20 MAY 2016 - 20 MAY 2016 We’ll Meet Again -  A tribute to the armed forces, past, present and future! 11 MAY 2016 - 11 MAY 2016 Starman -  Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Thin White Duke, Major Tom and more. 13 MAY 2016 - 13 MAY 2016 Sounds of the Glenn Miller Era - Nick Ross Orchestra 14 MAY 2016 The Chicago Blues Brothers -  the legendary Brothers are back on their brand new Jailbreak Tour! Featuring over 2 hours of the best Blues, Motown, Soul & Comedy from both of the Blues Brothers movies, including Everybody Needs Somebody, Soul Man, Respect and Shake a Tail Feather. 11 JUN 2016 Russell Watson –  Songs from the Heart The UK’s best selling classical crossover artist of all time 17 JUN 2016 Let’s Hang On - Award-winning celebration of the legendary Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons! 18

http://thecyclehub.net/twitter-solves-bus-wheel-mystery/

Central Bedfordshire Council is asking for public feedback on proposals for a £20.1million comprehensive redevelopment Dunstable Leisure Centre on Court Drive. The proposal is to create a new leisure and cultural space which will be more than a leisure centre, by combining these services all under one roof: • A new and bigger library on the ground floor with modern IT equipment, more space for events and activities, and improved facilities for both children and adults • A new and bigger health and fitness suite with 100+ gym stations - expanded from the current gym which has 60 stations - including new space for group exercise • Refurbished pool hall, swimming pools and the main pool redesigned to reduce running costs. This will include new tiling, air handling and pool filtration. • Refurbished sports hall, activity space, martial arts room and squash provision • A new and bigger café • A new crèche • New changing areas, both for swimmers and other leisure customers

Parking at Patterdale Close shops on Langdale Drive is clearly a problem. Despite 3 hour parking limits in parking bays, motorists are still parking on the bus stop and on yellow lines in the vicinity. Central Bedfordshire Council Parking officials have previously told us that they are virtually powerless to prevent problems. The Council invested money in ANPR cars but these are no longer allowed to use their cameras since a new ruling by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2015.  And they have to give a few minutes grace. By the time they have parked up, walked over to the car, the driver has seen them, and moves off. The loss of income from ANPR cars lead Central Bedfordshire Council to impose higher parking charges in Dunstable Town Centre this year. In 2015 Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "We are ending the war on drivers who simply want to go about their daily business. For too long parking rules have made law-abiding motorists feel lik

A notice on Dunstable Town Council's notice board says "Welcome to Olma Park Road Recreation Ground". Travellers have embraced the welcome and have decided to mount an illegal encampment there. Several caravans and 'status symbol' trucks, along with an ice cream van, are parked up at Olma Road Open Space this evening.  Locks on the gates would have had to have been removed to enable access onto the residential space earlier today. A local resident chirped, "At least that will keep the off-road bikes away for a bit." This part of Dunstable is densely populated and the field is regularly used by children as a playground and by local people exercising their dogs. Boys were happily playing football. Residents have taken to social media, and are commenting that they hope they will be moved on soon. But one of the travellers told us they were hoping to be there for a month. Dunstable Town Council is aware of the recent Traveller encampment o

Visitors to Dunstable may wonder why it is always 12 o'clock? At Dunstable Town Council Meeting on Monday 25th April, councillors asked for updates on repairs to the clock tower. The meeting was informed that the problem was complicated by the need to involve several different agencies including UK Power Networks, and Central Bedfordshire Council's new highways contractors,  Ringway Jacobs. Ringway Jacobs were recently awarded a new 7 year contract with the district council. The problem was thought to be that parts of the clock may need to be attended to, as well as a new power supply. The Council will continue to pursue the matter. Hertfordshire Concert Band appeared in Dunstable on Saturday NOTICE BOARDS Town Councillors raised questions tonight over the advertising of last Saturday's St George's Day event in Dunstable. Could more use be made of poster boards? Could the posters be bigger? Could out of date posters be removed more quickly as it gav

Town councillors in Dunstable tonight learnt that it was highly likely that their Market Town Regeneration Fund (MTRF) bid had secured a new Splash Park for the town. The guarded announcements came from the Town Clerk who was at pains not to get peoples hopes up too much, as the Town Council's bid was subject to ratification both by Dunstable Town Councillors, and by Central Bedfordshire Council who don't meet until June 7th. The £4m of funds in the MTRF have been put aside by Central Bedfordshire Council. All the projects put forward by towns in Central Bedfordshire are subject to matched funding by Town Councils. Among the projects Dunstable Town Council were hoping to be successful on were £275,000 for a Splash Park, £65,000 for refurbishing the Quadrant and Quadrant toilets, £70,000 on signposting post detrunking of the A5. And there was more for a town centre architectural lighting scheme to showcase key buildings. In all, the Town Clerk outlined some £610,000 of ex

 

At the junction of Downs Road and Half Moon Lane is a signpost that helpfully tells the cyclist there are just 3 minutes more cycling to get to Manshead Academy. Yet a minute further along the trail, at the top of Apollo Close is another sign telling the cyclist that the Academy is 4 minutes away. What's going on here? Has the Academy moved? Meanwhile, if you were heading the other way, it doesn't matter at which location you are, the sign tells you it's 5 minutes to the Town Centre. But does it really matter? Cycling depends on how fast you pedal, doesn't it? It's all very academic. The signs are believed to be part of a special funding for South Bedfordshire aimed at encouraging walking and cycling routes. If you're a cyclist, why not comment on here to let us know what the correct timings should be.

​​ ​ New data for ​this  area has been published on Police.uk. Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past two months: January 2016 February 2016 All crime 671 653 Anti-social behaviour 242 213

​​ ​ ​Dunstable News Desk is informed that  Central Bedfordshire Councils CCTV operators are monitoring ​ rogue cyclists in Dunstable's shopping arcade ​ ​ in an attempt to identify the offenders.  Central Bedfordshire Council are currently working with the Police and The Quadrant management in an effort to find solutions to this problem but the Council are asking parents, particularly, to ensure that their children are not causing a nuisance on their way home from school. No cycling is allowed through the Quadrant and action will be taken against anyone identified as riding through the Quadrant especially recklessly. Central Bedfordshire Councils Anti-Social Behaviour and Statutory Nuisance team are appealing for any information that would enable them to identify the youths who are causing a problem and calls can be made to the team on 03003008302 ​​ ​​

​ ​​ ​ Bedfordshire Police is keen to hear from residents concerned about anti-social behaviour and crime in their area and would like to join forces to tackle these issues. Street Watch enables residents to promote good citizenship by patrolling their own streets. Members liaise with the force to encourage positive information sharing and partnership working. Juliet Wright, the force's Watch Scheme Development Coordinator, said: "Our Street Watch volunteers provide visible reassurance and appropriately engage in local issues that matter most to their communities. They commit two hours every month to patrol in small groups, providing that vital link between their communities and the force.  "We are looking for volunteers who either want to join a scheme that's already set up in their area, or anyone who would like to start one." Bedfordshire has Street Watch schemes in: Ampthill, Barton-Le-Clay, Biggleswade,

A new 3 bedroom detached house is proposed to be built on land to the rear of 59 High Street South, Dunstable, in a conservation area.  Montpelier House is to the southeast, and the Priory grounds to the northeast.  The plans are accompanied by a Heritage Statement that concludes, "The proposal is not considered to substantially harm the setting and significance of the Scheduled Monument nor the Grade I listed Priory Church of St Peter. It is not considered to be detrimental to the character and appearance of the Dunstable Conservation Area."   Plans can be seen online at CBC's website  Comments can be emailed to planning@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Ofsted praises Central Bedfordshire College for quality of teaching, employer links and student ‘harmony’ in latest inspection. Staff and students at Central Bedfordshire College are once again celebrating the outcome of their recent Ofsted inspection at the beginning of March, which gave the College a resounding endorsement as a ‘Good’ college making it the only college in the area to have received a rating of ‘Good’ twice in a row. If you are thinking about the next move for your staff training or your own development then consider applying to Central Bedfordshire College. You can apply online from our courses pages - http://www.centralbeds.ac.uk/courses.html or book into one of our open events which happen throughout the year : - http://www.centralbeds.ac.uk/about-us/visit-us.html or if you just want to see the detail of our Ofsted report then please log into our website : - http://www.centralbeds.ac.uk/about-us/still-good,-says-ofsted.html Or just call us on 01582 4

Central Bedfordshire Council Executive Committee meets next Tuesday 5th April. Members of the public are welcome​, and the meeting will be broadcast live.​ Among the matters to be discussed is one to add an "Affordable Housing Guidance Note" for "South Central Bedfordshire". The guidance note would make the target for affordable housing provision in the South of Central Bedfordshire 30% on all qualifying sites of 4 dwellings and above. On sites of 4 dwellings, one affordable dwelling must be provided. The meeting will also look at its Passenger Transport policies, and consider adoption of a Transport Strategy to make more efficient use of its budgets. Current bus services in Central Bedfordshire are subsidised by approximately £1.265m in 2015/16, and there are 43,000 bus pass holders entitled to concessionary fares estimated at £2.382m. A Travel Aid pass for the unemployed applying via Job Centres costs the individual £5 for 28 days, giving them discounted

Highways partnership with Ringway Jacobs begins A new seven year contract started today with Ringway Jacobs to deliver Highways services throughout Central Bedfordshire. This will replace the previous contract with Amey. The contract was awarded in August 2015. Some staff will move in-house from Amey. The new procurement is hoping to make savings to the highway service. On offer are improved communications, a more consistent delivery, and improved satisfaction for residents and road users. Tasks to be undertaken will include winter maintenance,  emergency services,  cleaning signs,  painting white lines structural maintenance as already planned Cllr Brian Spurr, Executive Member for Community Services said: "We are delighted to be working with Ringway Jacobs and hope we can build a hardworking, customer focused partnership over the next seven years.  We are certain that the new contract will bring with it further improvements to our road network,

Central Bedfordshire Council are conducting an Environmental Review . They have produced a new document called the Environmental Framework and now want your feedback.   The Framework plays an important role in bringing together the various studies, assessments, strategies and guidance produced by the council relating to the environment of Central Bedfordshire. It applies the findings of these documents to national and local policy, allowing them to inform the way we should approach local environmental needs and issues while also supporting growth. The feedback from this consultation will help ​them to  develop environmental policies in the Local Plan for Central Bedfordshire, and identify areas where ​they  need to gather further evidence or information. Please refer to the Framework when completing the questionnaire and use it to form your answers. ​CBC  strongly advocate that you read the document before completing the consultation questionnaire. You can complete the questionnaire on