Dunstable News Desk

Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Kathryn Holloway, has outlined her plans for an Offenders’ Hub. The one-stop shop would provide offenders and their families with a support network including an online directory of all services that can help, and a call centre of specialist advisors. Commissioner Holloway revealed these plans at her Offender Focus event at Woodland Manor in Bedford last week. Colleagues working in the field were invited to discuss the new service. It will aim to break the pattern of serial reoffending across the county. It is a priority highlighted within the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan. Attendees included Bedfordshire Police, the National Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Company (local probation), the Governor of Bedford prison, local councils and offender-focused charities and organisations. The PCC said, “At the moment there is no single place where an individual emerging from prison or any other part of the Criminal Justice system can

The opening of the £20.1million Dunstable Centre is getting closer and is on track to reopen in February/March 2019, with the building works nearing completion and staff being recruited ahead of the opening. The centre will include a new, modern leisure facility, with a 100-station health and fitness suite, studios, swimming pools and changing rooms, along with a new library, crèche, café, as well as a flexible community space for other public and community services, such as Citizens Advice and adult day care / disabled sports. The brand-new library will be a large, bright and airy open-plan space, incorporating state-of-the-art equipment. Space will flow seamlessly within the main foyer and will be zoned for different activities. By bringing these services together under one roof, the new facility will help to reduce running costs, while providing more flexible services to customers, as well as improved opening hours for public services. Exercise fans can now get their hand

A Kensworth man has been fined over £2,400, after an extensive investigation into two fly-tipping incidents.  Thomas Tyler was found guilty of failing in his duty of care in the correct disposal of waste at Luton Magistrates’ Court. Mr Tyler, who also lives in Kensworth, had previously denied dumping the waste. The large quantity of fly-tipped waste was made up of a carpet, several mattresses, building materials, PVC windows, bathroom units, building insulation, a gas boiler, and black sacks. These were found dumped on a farmer’s land on Watling Street and on Clayhall Road in Kensworth. Mr Tyler had collected waste from two separate properties for money. Despite being paid, on both occasions, he failed to ensure that the waste was transferred to a legal waste disposal site or to a legal waste carrier. This failure in Mr Tyler’s duty of care led to the waste then being fly-tipped by an unknown third party. After he failed to attend his first court case in December, a warrant w

Majority of new-build houses to be sold as freehold and new leases to be capped at just £10. Ground rents for new leases to be capped at just £10 The vast majority of new-build houses are to be sold as freehold in a move to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold sector and put cash back into the pockets of over-stretched house buyers. Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP will tomorrow (15 October 2018) launch a consultation on plans to improve the leaseholder sector for would-be homeowners, which will bring an end to the unjustified selling of new houses as leasehold. The consultation will also propose that ground rents for new leases will be capped at just £10. On average leaseholders pay over £300 ground rent each year, with some paying as much as £700. These measures will build upon comprehensive action by the government to make the housing market fairer for everyone. This includes cracking down on rogue landlords so tenants have the quality of home the

Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Kathryn Holloway, has submitted an emergency bid of £4.571m to the Government’s Special Policing Grant fund to continue to pay for the county’s fight against gang, gun and knife crime in a bid to save young lives. Commissioner Holloway is calling on the Government to cover the unprecedented spend on the fight against the spread of gangs, knife carrying and gun use. The call follows an incident where a 16-year-old was stabbed to death on the streets of Bedford on a Sunday in September, another where seven young people ended up in hospital in Luton on the same evening with knife wounds after a fight involving teenagers. Kathryn Holloway said this week, "I’ve personally been present when a single weapons amnesty bin was opened at Halsey Road in Bedford which was found to contain four guns, a serrated zombie knife of over two feet in length, a vast Malaysian machete, a ceremonial sword and a selection of machetes, cleavers and ki

There's an exciting programme of events coming up at Rushmere Country Park with all proceeds supporting the park. Fox and Rabbit art workshop for adults, Wed 17 Oct 10.30am – tickets £20. Find out more . Halloween Disco Thurs 25 Oct 6.30pm – 9pm £12 per child. Find out more . Feed the Birds family fun day 28 Oct 11am – 3pm (free entry). Find out more . Tree Tops Music: Natasha Seale Fri 9 Nov from 6pm – tickets £15pp. Find out more . The Greensand Trust has been running an appeal to secure and restore Shire Oak Heath Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to its former glory throughout 2018. Now, thanks to a generous donation from the Rotary Club of Leighton-Linslade, the appeal has almost achieved its total and, with a little more help, can raise the £50K needed to restore the site. To find out more visit the  Greensand Trust

Several people were convicted yesterday (9 October) at Luton Magistrates’ Court for wrongful use of disabled Blue Badges in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. On 14 June 2018, council officers took part in an enforcement exercise to ensure that Blue Badge disabled parking permits were being correctly used in Central Bedfordshire. During this exercise, the council officers checked 124 Blue Badges. They discovered vehicles in Ashton Square Car Park in Dunstable where the eligible badge holder wasn’t present, so further action was taken. Christina Money, of Tunworth Crescent in London, was found guilty of displaying a Blue Badge which should have been returned to Wandsworth Council. When officers checked they found the badge was not registered to Ms Money but to her father, who had died more than 12 years previously.  The badge displayed also had an altered expiry date. After pleading guilty, Ms Money was given a community order of 60 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to

There was a full house this evening at the monthly meeting of the Dunstable and District History Society to hear Stephen Williams, the vicar of Harlington, give a talk on a forthcoming new English translation of The Annals of Dunstable Priory. This is the first complete translation into English of the annals, which were first written in Dunstable between 1210 and 1300. Today, this new hard-back translation went into print ready for a launch and book signing, next month. Until now only scholars with a good working knowledge of medieval Latin could read this unique year-by-year account of local, national and international affairs, as recorded by the canons of Dunstable Priory. Publication of this translation by David Preest has been prompted by the local team behind the recent “Medieval Dunstable” project. Stephen Williams, who has watched work on the translation unfold, told the story tonight behind this publishing coup. And if it was not for him wearing an old school scarf, he

HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis, recently appointed her Cadets for 2018/2019 at a ceremony held at Dunstable Community Fire Station by kind permission of Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller CBE QFSM MStJ DL. Dignitaries present at the ceremony included the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire Julian Polhill, the Deputy Mayor of Luton, the Speaker of Bedford, the Chairman of Central Bedfordshire Council, Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller CBE QFSM MStJ DL, Deputy Chief Constable Garry Forsyth and the President of St John’s Ambulance Anthony Duggan OBE. Other special guests included the Deputy Chief Executive of East Anglia RFCA Major (Retd) Jane Wilkes, the Chair of the Fire Authority Cllr Paul Downing and Jonathon Bell, a Lord-Lieutenant Cadet from 2013. They were joined at the ceremony by Cadets’ family members. The role of Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadets is to support the Lord-Lieutenant in carrying out her duties and their selection and appointment acknowledge their outstanding contr

Central Bedfordshire Council has gained an injunction banning eleven named individuals from setting up unauthorised encampments anywhere in Central Bedfordshire over the next two years. 2017 was a really difficult summer in Central Bedfordshire, where these individuals and their families moved from site to site across the authority area, causing disruption such as anti-social behaviour and large clean-ups which impacted on local communities. The injunction bans 11 named defendants from entering CBC authority area to camp. And 15 identified areas are for any persons deciding to camp there. This is indefinite for those areas, whereas the named persons part lasts two years. Over the last year, Central Bedfordshire Council has undertaken a huge amount of work to secure council-owned land, including installing height barriers, bunding, ditches and strengthening gates. The council has also been advising private landowners on suitable measures to take on their land. Additionally, th

An exciting new project, Café Connect has launched in Houghton Regis and Dunstable for its local communities, offering free weekly drop-in session and opportunities for residents to meet socially and benefit from peer support. The purpose is to build strong, healthy, interconnected communities. The project is designed for those who would like support to overcome barriers to social isolation and loneliness and make connections within their community, Café Connect is an opportunity for locals to benefit from peer support in a relaxed, safe environment and to: • Make connections with others in the locality • Share experiences and learn from others • Provide mutual support and friendship • Connect with community activities and groups • Be active and live life to the full; and • Enjoy FREE delicious cake and refreshments Café Connect provides supportive opportunities for all to talk about a range of issues and concerns. Whether its social isolation or loneliness, have experienc