Milton Ernest Parish Council Village Website

WORK UNDERWAY ON EXCITING NEW ‘JOBS HUB’ DEVELOPMENT IN BEDFORD TOWN CENTRE

Work is now underway on the Jobs Hub – a unique and new approach to helping people find work and training opportunities in Bedford Borough.

The Jobs Hub will help residents of all ages who are unemployed, looking for new skills, have entrepreneurial aspirations or those who are still in education and deciding on their next step.

The Jobs Hub is believed to be the first centre of its kind in the country and will make it easier for residents to get direct access to employment opportunities, training and enterprise support as well as helping services to directly engage with local people.

Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “The Jobs Hub is an exciting new approach to linking residents with training and job opportunities in Bedford Borough.

“It will bring all the advice, guidance and support residents need to make that next step, all under one roof in a convenient town centre location. It will be staffed by trained professionals who can offer individual help and advice to anyone on finding their next job, developing their skills or pursuing a new or growing business…

“Refurbishment work is underway and I look forward to the Jobs Hub opening this summer, providing real support to local residents”

Some of the services on offer at the Jobs Hub include:

• Advice about education and training options, including apprenticeships
• Help with job skills including CV writing, job applications and interview skills
• Access to job vacancies
• Appointments with training providers
• Business start-up workshops and enterprise coaching
• Help with volunteering opportunities
• Signposting to other services to help with specific issues, such as housing, health, benefit or debt advice

The Jobs Hub is funded by the Bedford Borough Partnership and Jobcentre Plus and will be located in the former Connexions building on Greyfriars in Bedford town centre and is expected to open in June/July 2012.

To enable works to take place the Connexions drop in centre will be closed for approximately 4 weeks. A temporary drop in service will instead be operated at Bedford Central Library during the following times:

Monday 10am – 4:30pm

Tuesday 10am – 4:30pm

Wednesday 10am – 4:30pm

Thursday 10am – 1:00pm

Friday 10am – 4:00pm

GREAT SUMMER IN BEDFORD BOROUGH – CELEBRATING THE DIAMOND JUBILEE

The Great Summer in Bedford Borough continues from the 2^nd to the 5^th June with local celebrations to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Across the borough families and friends are getting together to commemorate the Jubilee. As part of the celebrations Bedford Borough Council is organising a four day extravaganza focused on Russell Park and the Embankment.

Saturday and Sunday 2^nd and 3^rd June will see the International Kite Festival take on a royal theme. Expect to see the usual mix of high flyers, giant creations and colourful tails fluttering above Russell Park. There’s also an opportunity to fly your own kite, visit the Craft Marquee and browse the many stalls around the site.

Also on Sunday join Bedford Borough Council’s The Higgins Art Gallery and Museum for the Big Victorian Jubilee Picnic. The event takes place on the lawn of The Higgins with everyone invited to dress up, bring a picnic and join the flag and bunting making fest. Or if music is your thing Bedford Town Band will be performing from 3pm to 5pm at the Mill Meadows bandstand.

Monday will see the final of the Battle of the bands with a chance to hear the winners play live before they hit the main stage at this years River Festival in July. Warm up heats have already been organised with the previous winners set to battle it out across the afternoon from 12pm on Russell Park. Who out of The Scruff, Albany Down, Joy Radio, Brigante, Kastaphor and Kam Singh will be victorious?

Join the fun on Tuesday as an “It’s a Knockout” style competition takes over.  Hilarious and fun to both play and watch the competition will take teams of 10 through 8 fun-packed games across Russell Park. Those brave enough to take part should visit www.bedfordevents.co.uk for more information.

Finally, why not channel your inner child at a special Teddy Bear’s Picnic on Tuesday afternoon?! Between 12.30 and 2.30pm teddies far and wide will be travelling to Russell Park to enjoy a spot of lunch as part of the Jubilee celebrations. So why not dust off your favourite old bear and enjoy an afternoon full of cake, competition and even more memories to treasure?

Also at the Picnic Priory Methodist (Newnham Avenue), Christ Church and Russell Park Baptist Church (both located on Denmark Street) will be working together to put on activities for all the family. These include face painting, a puppet show, preparing a giant thank you for the Queen and singing with Castle Community Choir.

Mayor of Bedford Borough Dave Hodgson said:

“Across the summer we’ve organised a fantastic variety of events for all the family to come and take part in. We’re marking the Jubilee with four days of activities along the embankment and at Russell Park and I urge everyone to come along and join the celebrations.”

Ends

Note to Editors

Further events planned as part of the The Great Summer In Bedford Borough include:

• On Sunday 8^th July, Bedford welcomes the Olympic Flame into the borough as part of its 8,000 mile, 70 day journey across the UK. Thousands of people are expected to line the route and cheer on the torchbearers as the Flame travels through Bedford from Goldington Road and on to Cotton End.

• The 2012 River Festival takes place on 21^st and 22^nd July and is expected to attract more than 250,000 people to Russell Park and the Embankment across the weekend. The River Festival is the biggest free event in the region and one of the largest in the country providing a huge range of entertainment and fun for the whole family.

• Bedford Borough will also be involved with the 2012 London Olympics when the International Athletics Stadium becomes an ‘Olympic Live Site’ between the 3^rd and 10^th of August. A big screen will be showing the best of the action live throughout the week while local sports groups will be offering everyone the chance to challenge themselves at a range of sports and activities.

COUNCIL BACKS BID FOR EAST-WEST RAIL LINK

Bedford Borough Council has joined other authorities along the route of the proposed western section of East West rail, to express their commitment to the scheme in support of the government’s announcement that it is minded to proceed with the project.

The western section would link Bedford with Oxford and Aylesbury, and provide new transport links for borough residents and help drive wider housing and economic growth.

The Government has announced it is minded to proceed with the project once a satisfactory business case has been completed by the Department for Transport and once the East West Rail Consortium has confirmed that it will look to provide a financial contribution. No decisions have yet been taken on how much Bedford Borough may be required to contribute and it will be several years before this is needed.

Councillor Michael Headley, Bedford Borough representative on the East West Rail Delivery Board, said: “The East-West rail link has been an aspiration of ours for many years but it is now on track to become a reality.

“When completed, the rail link will bring significant benefits to Bedford Borough. It will provide a much needed new transport link, helping to reduce congestion on our roads and providing an alternative transport option for anyone wishing to travel to and from the west.

“It will also helping to strengthen the economic relationship between Bedford, Oxford and beyond creating new jobs and supporting economic growth.

“Bedford Borough Council fully supports the successful implementation of the East-West rail link and will continue to work with other members of the Consortium to make it happen.” 

Following our statement of commitment we expect an announcement from Government on how the scheme will be taken forward this summer.

FREE SOIL IMPROVER RETURNS TO BEDFORD HWRC!

Bedford Borough Council is delighted to announce the return of the free soil improver for the public to collect from the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Barkers Lane.

The scheme was incredibly popular last year, with over 400 tonnes taken away by local residents! The soil improver is made from the green waste that is collected from the kerbside and the HWRC. It is then processed at a local on-farm composting site at Ravensden, operated by Growing Beds Ltd.

Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “The Soil Improver scheme was extremely popular last year with local residents taking away more than 400 tonnes of the material in a little over 6 months.

“Up to 30% of their household bin is made up of organic waste which can be turned into compost. Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. 

“I am delighted to see this scheme return during Compost Awareness Week and I am confident it will again attract plenty of green fingered enthusiasts.”

So, if you are looking for a blooming marvellous garden this spring, what better way than to use composted material collected from your community. Not only will you be helping us make the most of the waste we throw away but you’ll also be helping to reduce waste sent to landfill and save money!

The free soil improver scheme was so successful in 2011 the supply at the HWRC ran out on a number of occasions meaning not everyone who wanted to use the soil improver, could do so. Therefore, having taken onboard customer comments and to provide a fairer system for the public, 100 60-litre bags will be made available each week on a first come, first served basis. All you need to do is ask a member of staff who will be happy to supply you with a free bag.

In addition, compost reward vouchers will be given out to attendees at community environmental events throughout the spring and summer. These vouchers can be redeemed against free bags of compost. Residents who produce a voucher at Bedford’s HWRC will be guaranteed a bag of compost upon their visit.

For further information on the compost scheme or to find out about the HWRC’s opening times visit www.bedford.gov.uk/recycling, call 01234 718013 or email callcentre@bedford.gov.uk.

For those interested in home composting, now is the perfect time of year to get started.? Through Bedford Borough Council, householders can purchase home compost bins for as little as ?10 for the Compost Converter 220 litre model and ?13 for the larger 330 litre version.?

For further information about these products, please call: – 0845 130 60 90.? Alternatively, you can also order your home composters and composting accessories online, just visit www.getcomposting.com.

BOROUGH EXTENDS KERBSIDE BATTERY COLLECTIONS AND GETS A POSITIVE RESULT

After a successful trial to 13,000 residents, Bedford Borough Council has now finished rolling out the kerbside collection of used household batteries to all of the remaining households in the Borough as part of ongoing efforts to increase recycling rates.

In recent weeks residents across the Borough have received plastic battery bags in which they can recycle their used household batteries. Residents can simply fill their battery bag with used batteries, seal it and leave it on top of the black refuse bin or sacks on the normal day of collection. Battery bags will then be collected and replaced by the collection crews.

Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “I am delighted we are able to roll out the kerbside battery collection to all homes in Bedford Borough.

“Up to 60% of a battery can be recycled, whereas if they are left to degrade in landfills, batteries can release hazardous materials which damage our local environment.

“We are committed to continuing to increase the amount of rubbish being recycled across Bedford Borough and the best way to make that happen is to work with local residents. By providing these bags completely free of charge and incorporating the collections in the normal collection days, we are making it easy for local residents to recycle more.”

Government legislation, introduced in 2009, means the UK is legally required to increase its battery recycling rate to 25% by 2012 and 45% by 2016. The current rate is approximately 3%. The legislation also requires battery producers to cover the costs of recycling used batteries, so the cost to the Council of introducing this scheme is minimal.

For more information about the kerbside battery recycling scheme please contact the Council on 01234 267422 or email: recycling@bedford.gov.uk.

Bedford Borough residents living in blocks of flats can use the battery collection facilities in the Town Hall and Borough Hall reception areas, Bedford’s Household Waste and Recycling Centre and all large electrical stores and supermarkets.