Dunstable News Desk

Bedfordshire Lieutenancy: Lord-Lieutenant brings a virtual message of rebirth and renewal to the people of Bedfordshire Lord-Lieutenant brings a virtual service to the people of Bedfordshire to reflect on the Easter message of rebirth and renewal as we move forward and strive to shape a better world. In the last 12 months, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis has been keeping in touch with the people of Bedfordshire virtually through her weekly online messages, periodic virtual services and via regular contact with voluntary organisations, businesses, and faith, health and educational establishments. Throughout the pandemic, individuals and organisations alike have felt the full impact of the virus in a variety of ways including the loss of loved ones, the closure of businesses and schools, challenges of remote learning and the struggles to keep charities afloat. The purpose of the messages, services and regular contact has been to boost morale, spread a message of hope a

Our local zoo is pleased to be re-opening! It's that time we've all been waiting for, the Zoos are re-opening and you can now book your early bird tickets for a great day out!  The animals are so excited to welcome visitors back. At ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, visit their youngest elephant Beth with her family, and if you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of nine-month old Red panda cub, Nilo.  And at ZSL London Zoo, come and meet the new tigress, Gaysha, and see how much six-month-old okapi, Ede has grown.  With everyone is ready for a day out the priority for the zoo is to re-open safely and responsibly, in line with the Government schedule. So they will have social distancing in place and reduced capacities. Tickets are, therefore, limited, but the good news is that tickets are on sale through to August so you can book ahead for your summer trip now. Make a booking now! Photo credits: ZSL  If you have news for Dunstable, please send it in

Central Bedfordshire will receive £255,873 to help local high streets reopen and attract shoppers and tourists. The Government is investing a total of £56 million through the Welcome Back Fund to help councils prepare for the end of lockdown when it is safe to do so. This is part of a wider package of measures to revitalise high streets and level up communities – including steps to make it easier for eateries to serve customers outdoors and set up market stalls this Summer. Improvements can be made to local high streets across Central Bedfordshire to help them safely and successfully open after lockdown. A total of £56 million will be invested through the new Welcome Back Fund to help councils across England boost tourism, improve green spaces and provide more outdoor seating areas, markets and food stall pop-ups – giving people more, safer options to reunite with friends and relatives this Summer. South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous said he was delighted Central Bedfordshire

How do you inspire the next musical minds during a pandemic that has prevented live music?  Central Bedfordshire’s Inspiring Music & the Bath Phil have the answer:  Orchestras in Context , a new digital resource for the classroom and home. The pandemic has made it near-impossible for music students to experience live classical concerts, which are vital for their development. So that A/AS Level students don’t miss out on live concerts,  Inspiring Music  commissioned Bath Phil to bring to life the great musical minds from the 20th and 21st centuries. All performances will be available to stream at home or in classrooms. Recorded live by professional musicians and a socially distanced chamber orchestra, Orchestras in Context: The Set Works Sessions are a set of three online broadcasts and accompanying lesson plans. These online sessions provide an in-depth, user-friendly contextualisation of them - against wider orchestral listening examples. The three performances ¹  include excer

Central Bedfordshire Local Plan Modifications: Consultation Starts Residents are being invited to have their say on proposed modifications to Central Bedfordshire Council’s Local Plan during a six-week consultation launched today. The consultation seeks views on all Main Modifications being proposed, as well as a Sustainability Appraisal Report and a Habitats Regulations Assessment addendum. Other proposed modifications include changes to Local Plan Policies Maps. In addition to the consultation documents, the Council has also published additional (minor) modifications, as well as a ‘strikethrough’ version of the Local Plan, that do not form part of the consultation but are available to help inform people of the proposed modifications. The Local Plan, which is currently being examined by independent Planning Inspectors, outlines proposed development across the Council area until 2035. This Main Modifications consultation follows on from public hearings that took place during summer

Central Bedfordshire Council has become one of the first local authorities in the country to bring contact tracing in-house in a new pilot scheme for local residents. Contact tracing is a key element of reducing transmission of COVID-19 and allows the local team to offer local support and ensure residents can self-isolate safely during this pandemic.  All local positive cases are directed straight to the Council’s team instead of the national track and trace teams. The previous test and trace process could take up to three days for the local team to receive cases. Under the new process, the Central Bedfordshire Council team are alerted to new cases just an hour after a positive test. The new service began on Monday 1st March, where members of the team call each case and complete the Test & Trace questionnaire to identify their close contacts, understand where they may have been infected and ensure they all the necessary support to self-isolate. In the first week, the service rec

Andrew Selous, MP South West Bedfordshire, “Given the link between covid deaths and obesity, does the Secretary of State share my concern that children from the poorest constituencies are being the most heavily targeted by social media junk food adverts, and that over half of the top UK child influencers on Instagram have promoted junk food in the last year? Will he meet some of the young people from Bite Back 2030, who are concerned about this?” Matthew Hancock Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, “I would be very happy to ensure that the children of Bite Back 2030 meet the Minister for public health, my hon. Friend Jo Churchill, who leads on these matters, and my hon. Friend is right to raise that incredibly important point.” The exchange took place during  Health and Social Care Update in the House of Commons  at 12:24 pm on 18th March 2021. Bite Back 2030 Bite Back 2030  say on their website that they are  here for young people  who want to know the truth about how the

Central Bedfordshire Council has been working on an exciting piece of innovation that not only helps with its gritting runs but also has considerable sustainability benefits. The Council has installed a rainwater harvesting system at its Thorn Turn depot in Houghton Regis. The system collects rainwater from their roof, that would otherwise flow down gutters into the drain, and stores it in a tank that can hold up to 15,000 litres. The collected water is then used for creating their pre-wet brine solution for its gritting trucks. This system was first used in January and has been in operation throughout the winter gritting season. The solution leads to a reduction in the amount of salt and fresh water being used, which is an added benefit to the environment and also saves money. Following a successful trial, the Council will be installing a smaller, 1,000-litre rainwater harvesting system at its Sandy highways depot in April. The rainwater collected will be used to clea

A call out to all young budding artists The Greensand Trust would like to invite young artists to create and submit art to them based upon the title “Heron”. They would love to see your art which can include photography, drawings, collages, paintings, sculpture and even computer-generated art - you will need to photograph the art and then send the photo to info@greensandtrust.org along with your name, age and contact details and they will enter your art into the Easter Heron Art Competition. The Rules The art must relate to the title “Heron” and you need to be under the age of 16 years to enter, there is no fee to enter but you must be happy to have your art featured on our social media and website along with your name and age. You must have permission from your parents to enter the competition. The closing date for the competition is Monday 29th March. The Prizes The Top 5 selected pieces of art will receive an Easter Egg and a Heron Pin Badge. *Heron picture (top) composite by

Police have this week been appealing for information after a violent disorder involving a number of cars and people armed with weapons after a silver BMW and a blue BMW were involved in a collision in Britain Street, Dunstable. At around 2.15pm on Tuesday three men in one of the cars attacked a man in the other car, while a woman in this vehicle left the scene on foot. During this incident a man suffered multiple stab wounds to his leg, resulting in potentially life-changing injuries. The three suspects left the scene on foot. A fourth man drove the suspects’ car away from the scene but was involved in a collision nearby, before getting out of the car and also leaving on foot. Detective Sergeant Tom Hamm, from Bedfordshire Police Crime Investigation Team, said, “This appears to be a malicious and targeted attack which has left the victim with really serious injuries. “This is a busy area and while we are out speaking to people, we would be really keen to hear from anyone who saw or

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire continues drive for digital devices High Sheriff's laptop scheme Members of the public are being encouraged to donate their no longer used digital devices to be data erased, refurbished and distributed to pupils across Central Bedfordshire. The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Susan Lousada, launched the scheme earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure children who are in need of a device, but not eligible to receive one through a Government scheme, could still receive one and participate in learning. So far  over 570 devices have been donated  to pupils across Central Bedfordshire and over 1,700 across Bedfordshire as a whole. Between Thursday 11 March and Thursday 1 April, members of the public can donate devices at: Grove House, Dunstable from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm Houghton Regis library from Tuesday to Friday between 9.30am and 6pm, and on Saturdays between 9am and 4pm  Or at these other drop off points across Central Bedfordshire:

£539,000 funding boost to tackle serious violence in Bedfordshire   Bedfordshire Police receives an extra £539,000 to tackle serious violent crime, including knife crime and murder.   This investment is part of the £130.5 million funding package announced to tackle serious violent crime across England and Wales.   The funding package will help to prevent some of the most serious types of crime and deliver safer communities for the British public.   South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous has welcomed the announcement that the Government is making available over £130 million to tackle serious violent crime – including murder and knife crime – in the coming year.   Bedfordshire Police will receive £539,000 of this extra funding, as one of the 18 areas across England and Wales selected for targeted police action.   The total £130.5 million funding package includes £30 million to support the police to take targeted action in parts of England and Wales most affected by serious violence