Dunstable News Desk

B489 towards Dunstable by Alan D Winter A lorry driver who has asked to remain anonymous is frustrated by new signs on roads leading to Dunstable. 7.5T weight limit signs have appeared on the County boundary with Buckinghamshire on the B489 towards Dunstable, and on the B4506 at the foot of Whipsnade Zoo. The driver who contacted Dunstable News Desk, said, "So I'm driving an articulated lorry along these roads. Where on earth am I supposed to turn around?" At the time of checking these signs, there were no previous signs beforehand in Buckinghamshire, alerting lorry drivers to the weight restrictions ahead. County boundary on B4506 We asked Central Bedfordshire Council to comment. A spokesperson said, "There are signs in place within the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire parts of the A5 to alert drivers to the weight limits further ahead of zone. In addition, our staff have been working with companies such as Amazon, Eddie Stobart, Tesco, and Asda to

by Alan D Winter Full planning permission for revised plans to redevelop the Dukeminster site, beside the Guided Busway, is due to be considered at the end of this month. The Central Bedfordshire Planning Officer's report to the committee highlights that, "A viability report has accompanied this revised full planning application which concluded that this scheme, despite the increase in unit numbers, was considered to be unviable due to the construction costs in relation to flat blocks and due to the unsuspected additional ground construction works. As such no affordable housing provision was offered on the outset of this application." The report goes on to say, "The Section 106 agreement was to include an obligation to secure provision of on-site affordable housing as resolved at the committee with a mixture of 10% shared ownership and 5% starter homes. The committee is asked to reconsider the application on the basis of the updated information. The Develope

A shopkeeper appeared in court after his business was caught selling alcohol to under-18s. He pleaded guilty and was fined a total of £611 at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 16th January 2018. The shop, A5 Food and Wine Ltd in Brittany Court, High Street South, Dunstable was caught selling alcohol to under-18s during two test-purchasing operations in June and July of last year. The visits were carried out by Central Bedfordshire Council’s Trading Standards team. The offender, who claimed limited means, was fined £181, ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £400 in costs – a total of £611. Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “The law states that shops are not allowed to sell alcohol to under-18s. This is non-negotiable and designed to protect our children from harm. “You shouldn’t serve someone alcohol just because they look old enough to buy it. If in doubt, check their age using a recognised form of identif

Central Bedfordshire Council is giving the public the opportunity to share their views on proposals to change its current Money Management Service. Most councils offer a Money Management Service to residents who are unable to manage their own finances and do not have a suitable person to do it on their behalf, despite not being required by law to do so. Central Bedfordshire Council currently offers the service for free. However, requirements by Central Government has led to increases in costs and new charges by banks have added to the costs, which mean it is no longer sustainable to continue providing the service for free. There is also a growing demand by vulnerable adults for the service which cannot be currently met. The council is proposing to introduce a small affordable charging scheme to cover the costs of delivering the service and enable it to be expanded to meet the increasing demand and need of the service. To assess the potential impact of the proposals a pub

When you give your household waste to someone to get rid of, how do you know they are not going to fly-tip it somewhere? Only a licenced waste carrier should be used. Now the government is consulting on some new ideas to make householders aware of their responsibilities, and introduce a fixed penalty system. You can check if a carrier is licensed by checking on the Environment Agency’s website . The government want to know what you think about proposals to reduce crime and poor performance in the waste sector . They are looking to do this by enforcing more appropriate competence standards for permitted waste site operators. And they're also proposing to make changes to waste exemptions to prevent them being used to hide illegal activity. The government are also asking your views on best ways to improve householder awareness of their waste duty of care. As part of this, they are proposing the introduction of a fixed penalty for householders failing to pass their waste to

Three vacancies recently occurred on Dunstable Town Council. These will be filled by Polls on 8th February 2018. Dunstable Town Councillors The by-elections will be held on 8th February 2018 in Northfields, Watling, and Manshead Wards. The Council hold their meetings at their offices in Grove House, High Street South. Nominations are now closed. POSTAL VOTING Applications, amendments or cancellations of postal votes and amendments or cancellations of proxy votes must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5TQ by 5 pm on Wednesday, 24th January 2018. PROXY VOTING New applications to vote by proxy at this election must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5TQ by 5 pm on Wednesday, 31st January 2018. Applications to vote by emergency proxy at this election on grounds of physical incapacity or for work/service reaso

News Release form the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire, Kathryn Holloway Since 2010 the Government has continuously reduced the amount of national funding for Bedfordshire Police and to date, as your Police and Crime Commissioner, despite a successful on-going recruitment campaign which has helped to hold service levels against a picture of ever-increasing demand, I have been given no facility, until now, to uplift the total number of resources available to respond to victims of crime and protect the people of Bedfordshire. As a result, the force now has 140 less officers than it did in 2010. When we take into account the demand, complexity and the landscape of policing (which is significantly different to 2010), I am sure you will understand why I have taken the decision to raise Council Tax by £1 per month for the next 24 months, which will cost the total of £24 pounds per Band D household in Bedfordshire to increase the number of police officers by

There are THREE vacancies on Dunstable Town Council. WATLING WARD, NORTHFIELDS WARD, MANSHEAD WARD Nomination papers need to be delivered to the Returning Officer at the address shown by 4pm Friday 12th January 2018. Applications to change or cancel postal votes must be in by 24th January 2018. New applications to vote by proxy must be in by 31st January 2018. If any election is contested the poll will take place on 8th February 2018. (tap of click to enlarge images.) In any doubt please refer to the  CBC website .

Drivers who use their mobile phone to pay-to-park in Central Bedfordshire car parks will need to register with a new provider from 16th January. JustPark will be taking over the Council contract from RingGo, and will be running the service across all of the council's pay and display car parks. The switch to the new provider is estimated to save the council an estimated £60,000 a year. The new system has been chosen as being easier to use. Payments can be made in cash, or via a mobile phone - either by calling the number on display in the car park or by using the JustPark app, at no extra cost. Customers can register in advance or on-the-spot at the car park.   Book a parking space using JustPark . The system takes minutes to be set up using an iPhone, Android or Apple Watch App. Payments can be completed in under 30 seconds, using Apple Pay, Android Pay or PayPal one touch. A dedicated local rate telephone number will help with customer enquiries and 24-hour payments. Cu

Central Bedfordshire's Cheering Volunteering Awards are returning next year, with the fourth annual awards and celebration evening taking place on Tuesday, 5 June. It will again be held at the Grove Theatre, in Dunstable, and is a terrific opportunity to celebrate the work of volunteers across Central Bedfordshire. You will be able to nominate people or groups for six different awards, including a new category for 2018: sports volunteer. Nominations will open on Monday, 8 January 2018 and you’ll then have almost three months to nominate in as many categories as you like. But you can’t nominate the same volunteer in more than one category. We’ll also have a link to the Inspiring Volunteering grant application form from Monday, 8 January 2018. There’s a total funding pot of £5,000 available for projects which encourage volunteering or kick-start new activities involving volunteers. Grant awards will be made from a minimum of £100 to a maximum of £1,000. Councillor C

Dunstable Library is situated in Vernon Place, opposite Asda, Dunstable, LU5 4HA To contact the library: Tel 0300 300 8056 Email customer.services@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Online: Virtual Library: http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/libraries Open Hours Tuesday – Friday, 9am – 6pm Saturday, 9am – 4pm Key Facts JOINING - The library is free to join with proof of name and address, or if no proof you may still borrow 4 books. If you are aged under 15, a parent or guardian must consent. To join the library complete a form at the library, or DOWNLOAD an application form , print it off and take it to the library. Up to 10 books may be borrowed free of charge. All issues are for 3 weeks. Hire fees apply for taking out up to 10 audio items of adult audio books, CDs or 4 DVDs.  Audio books are issued for 3 weeks. DVDs, CDs, and magazines are issued for 1 week. To borrow for longer periods go to the Virtual Library and renew there. Or telephone the library. Or renew in pe

With cuts to funding from central government and increasing costs of some services the Central Bedfordshire Council is proposing to cut its spending by £13.8million through a range of proposals increase council tax by 3% specifically to help pay for adult social care services, and increase council tax by up to 3% to pay for other services It is planning to spend £190million on public services, well over half of which will be spent on adult social care services (£76million, 40%) and children services (£38million, 20%) with the rest funding services like roads and transport, refuse collections, libraries and leisure as well as the cost of running the council (£76million). The amount of money coming in from the government to help fund services is reducing significantly. In 2018/19, the council will receive half the amount of government grant that it was allocated in the previous year and by 2019/20 this grant funding will disappear altogether. Previously, local councils wer

Link to CBC definitive paths map 2026 The current cut-off date for adding historic paths to definitive maps. Is your path disappearing? There are just 8 years left to apply for your old paths to be recorded. Unrecorded paths, subject to some minor exceptions, will be extinguished on 1 January 2026 at the stroke of midnight. New Year's Day 2026 will be the last day such unrecorded paths can be used by right." In a Gov.uk 2012 press release the government said, "All unrecorded footpaths and bridleways created before 1949 cannot be recorded after 1 January 2026. This ‘cut off’ date by which to claim these historical rights of way was set in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000." "As well as making it easier for walkers, horse riders and cyclists to protect unrecorded rights of way, the proposed system is expected to save almost £20 million a year by cutting needless bureaucracy. " "No changes are being made to the protections for r

Flooring and skirting in the kitchen The owner of an Indian restaurant in Dunstable High Street has been fined more than £20,000 after a customer spotted a cockroach in the pilau rice. Environmental Health Officers from Central Bedfordshire Council visited the restaurant on 12 April 2017, after receiving a complaint from a customer, and discovered a serious infestation of cockroaches in the kitchen to the premises. A Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice was served and the premises was closed with immediate effect due to the health risk to the general public. Mr Hoque, the owner of The Maharajah Restaurant, attended Luton Magistrates’ Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to six offences under Regulation (EC) 852/2004 and The Food Safety Act 1990. Mr Hoque and his business were fined a total of £20,970, including costs of £6,920 awarded to the council. The court heard how, following the complaint of a cockroach spotted in the rice, Officers carried out an unannounced visit the fo