News in brief

How are we doing?

For much of the time I have been in Bedford, I have gained the impression that local councillors, bar some notable exceptions, have not the slightest interest in learning what the rate-payers think about Bedford. Either that, or they are so preoccupied writing abusive messages in the local press, attacking political opponents, that they have no time to spare.

So it was a refreshing change to attend a meeting put on by the Borough Council actually asking people to have their say. It is perhaps a measure of the seed-change that has taken place since we abandoned the previous structure in favour of a directly elected mayor.

The keynote speech was given by David Russell, chief executive of the Harpur Trust. It was perhaps appropriate to invite him, especially since he has been here only four years or so, and was able to provide an unbiased view of Bedford as he saw it.

Among the good aspects of the town he singled out the people, the good schools, further education institution, and the new University. He expressed disappointment over the decision not to go for a two tier education system, a decision made by the county council some weeks ago. He also welcomed the cultural diversity, it being said that there are fifty-seven languages spoken! The river, and the countryside was also an endearing feature.

As to the bad, he mentioned some dilapidated areas within the town, the lack of professional theatre and lack of professional music provision. There was good amateur provision, however. And he also mentioned the socially unwelcome atmosphere especially in the evenings.

(I have at this stage to apologize if I am misrepresenting anyone. The acoustics in the Harpur Suite are dreadful, and I could not hear much of what was being said, particularly by the men!)

In terms of needs he suggested that the museum and Cecil Higgins provision needed thought, as also would be more of an alliance between the public and private sectors.

The next speaker was Frank Branston, the Mayor, on the theme of sustainability, and his comments can be read in full here. (Do read it - it is a thoughtful piece).

Apu Bagchi, responsible for transportation, gave an impressive overview of the situation in town. It is usually a subject over which many enjoy a good whinge, but by and large it appeared that people were satisfied with the plans to provide more parking space. The notion of keeping some car parks open in the evenings received support.

Margaret Davey, portfolio holder for community safety, spoke of a much more vibrant town compared with twenty, thirty years ago, though the perception of binge drinking, noise and vandalism seems to persist, fueled, she suggested, by the papers, which revel in covering the bad news.

Pat Olney, responsible for culture, leisure and diversity, was the last speaker. She dealt with three topics: parks and open spaces, sports facilities, and the museum and art gallery. There were some interesting statistics - over 400 hectares of public open green space, over sixty play areas, 100 sports pitches and courts, six traditional parks and, of course, the Embankment gardens. This year, by the way, Bedford received a silver award from "Anglia in Bloom."

She also referred to the annual events. The kite festival attracted 70 thousand visitors, the Christmas lights and fireworks 15 thousand, proms in the park, 4,000 visitors, regattas, 2,000, and race for life 10,000. Every other year the River Festival attracts 300,000 visitors. Quite an impressive record.

Again, sorry that this is so sparse. A full report will be coming from the Borough in due course, and I will provide further details then.

There then followed "break-out" sessions, where people opted for one of the main themes. It soon became clear in the group that I joined that most were either councillors or people representing a particular cause or voluntary group. I felt caught out a bit, because I had no axe to grind. Opinions may differ, but my feeling was that this was an opportunity for people to get on their soap-boxes, and I am informed by others that the "facilitators" had a bit of a difficult time restraining those who wanted a whinge! Mind you, these meetings lasted only fifteen minutes, so the opportunity for discussion in depth was somewhat limited. Finally, all met again in the main hall, and feedback was provided by the groups.

This is not intended as a criticism, because I could not suggest a better alternative, but there was something frustrating about the fact that all the four main themes impinge upon each other. It will be interesting to see the final report when it is published.

Verdict? The Borough clearly meant what it said - it wanted residents to have their say. Such a meeting was well worth arranging, and I hope that there will similar occasions in the future. One certainly came away feeling that things are really begining to move in Bedford, and that the Mayor and Portfolio holders have their finger on the pulse. Would that the County were being similarly proactive; sadly in their case I feel that the Bedfordshire County Council has reached its sell-by date.

PS I believe that if you contact Andrew Robertson (ARobertson@bedford.gov.uk) he will send you a copy of the report of this meeting when it is published.