News in brief
Occasional newsletter - mainly for expats
14 March 2007
We are into the silly season at the moment, with the council elections soon to take place. I must confess that I am still at a loss to know why it is that party political groupings still exist in local government, when the issues are not "party" political. Well, they still exist, and continue to hammer out to us all the evils compounded by their political "enemy". One also rather tires of extravagant claims that are made whenever a development is taking place, whether or not they have been party to the improvements! Reading about the proposed developments for the Church Lane redevelopment, one might be led to believe that this is entirely the work of the Liberal Democrats. Thus we are shown a picture of three of them standing in the large square examining plans for redevelopment. It all gets rather tedious, and it is hardly surprising that the turnout at local elections is so poor.
Anyway, on to the Church Lane developments. "Not fit for purpose" has been the mantra to quote, ever since a Secretary of State used it a few months ago. It is here being applied to Church Lane, which is about to receive a ten million pound facelift.
The developers have unveiled proposals for expanded shopping parade and new homes. Residents have welcomed the latest plans to give a Bedford neighbourhood shopping parade a revamp.
Coplan Estates was chosen last year by the borough council to spearhead redevelopment of the Church Lane district centre.
And on Tuesday the firm unveiled its new proposals at a public exhibition, including around 80 extra homes, a larger community centre and a foodstore more than twice as big as the current shop which residents say has lain empty for 15 years.
Jenny Mosedale, of Goodrich Avenue, said the makeover would be a boost to the area, which is currently covered by a dispersal order to deal with nuisance youths.
She said: "I think it looks quite good. I do have issues with the idea of filling in the subway under Church Lane because we encourage children to use it. But we do need something to build up the self-esteem of people in this area a little bit.
"This part of town has had nothing spent on it for years."
Gloria Jakes, vice-chairman of the existing community centre's management committee, said: "We want it desperately.
"The supermarket has been empty for 15 years. It was a good shop but Tesco came along. The community centre is thriving, but it would be nice to be able to shop here without having to get a bus into town or struggle to Tesco.
"And anything to get rid of the youths loitering would be good."
Coplan Estates won a competition last summer to redevelop the borough council-owned neighbourhood centre.
Its £10 million privately-funded scheme, kicked off by £1.79 million of Government regeneration cash, proposes the demolition of the empty foodstore and the construction of a new one on the opposite side of the site.
Also earmarked for the wrecking ball is The Century pub, although the 16 homes which currently stand would be kept.
Coplan wants to expand car parking from 90 to 194 spaces and shift them to the front of the complex, with 82 reserved for residents. The number of homes, mainly one and two-bedroom, would rise to 97.
Colin McQueston, Coplan director, said the company was in "serious discussions" with a major supermarket chain to run the foodstore as the new development's 'anchor' feature.
It is hoped a planning application for the scheme will be lodged in April, he added.
Mr McQueston said: "The neighbourhood centre isn't fit for purpose now.
"Some elements are well used, but unless something is done over the next ten years it could experience some long-term decline, because of things like the car park being remote from the shopping areas and the lack of a real anchor – the foodstore-type offer.
"Business was better when the foodstore was here, and we need to give people a reason to come back and shop.
"People want something to happen here. It's still operating, but it's punching below its weight."
Accident spot
Road safety bosses are to launch an investigation into accidents in Cardington Road, Bedford, after it was named as one of the worst blackspots in the county.
A review has pinpointed 20 stretches of road where at least three collisions have left people killed or seriously injured (KSI) in the last three years.
Cardington Road features in the grim list with four such incidents.
Prompted by a petition from residents, calling for the speed limit along the dual carriageway section to be cut, the county council is now planning a probe into the smashes.
Experts will propose whatever safety measures they think are necessary to reduce the human toll in the future.
New regulations on mobiles. But will they make a significant difference?
Warning over new mobile phone law Around 200 drivers a month are being caught and now risk points on their licence.
That was the message from Bedfordshire Police on Tuesday after new penalties for talking while driving came into effect.
From this week, Section 26 of the Road Safety Act 2007 lays down a £60 fine and three points for using a hand-held mobile when at the controls. The previous punishment was a £30 fine through the issue of a fixed penalty notice – a ticket, in other words.
You can also now be hit with a fine and points for failing to have proper control of your vehicle, with any cases which reach court possibly involving disqualification and a maximum fine of £1,000 – or £2,500 in the case of bus, coach or goods vehicle drivers.
Police have warned that the offence of using a mobile phone includes texting while driving. A motorist could even fail to have proper control of a vehicle if he or she were distracted while using a hands-free kit.
Chief Insp Mark Buckton, of Bedfordshire Police's Roads Policing Unit, said: "We already issue around 200 penalty notices a month to people who are using a hand-held phone while driving. We know that it is a significant cause of collisions, injuries and deaths on the roads.
"The simple truth is that you cannot concentrate on your driving if you are using a mobile phone. The tougher penalties, along with robust enforcement, should make people think twice.
(Over the last two days I have counted the number of vehicles being driven by someone wielding a mobile. Thirteen! Somehow the message has not sunk in yet. One was clearly "texting" so had his eyes off the road. Automatic disqualification, followed by a compulsory re-test may drive things home more effectively!
Road pricing for Bedfordshire rears its head
Road pricing for Bedfordshire is an option to help tackle its traffic problems, according to the Government.
The East of England Plan – which will guide development in the region up to 2021 – is currently being finalised.
And in its latest form it raises the prospect of congestion charging at some point further down the highway.
It says: "Road pricing should be considered as part of an integrated approach to manage the region's road network in a sustainable way and should be consistent with any national technical standards and guidelines.
"The objective is to reduce less necessary journeys to free up road space for essential users. It is not about restricting all car movement."
The East of England Plan covers housing, employment, transport and other areas. It is likely to be published in its finished form in the summer.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the current national debate on road pricing, it holds out the prospect of pay-to-drive becoming a reality in the region.
The current version of the plan says any congestion charging schemes should come with "sustainable alternatives to private vehicle use", and "be designed so as to avoid disadvantaging the region's rural communities and other
regeneration areas dependent on road access, where practicable".
However, the county council is objecting to the idea of road pricing being introduced on a regional basis. It is arguing there should be a nationwide project instead.
A council report says: "The county council's preferred approach is that if road pricing is introduced, it should be a national scheme which would avoid the inconsistencies that arise from the application of local schemes."
*** Of course, for "essential users" read "those who can afford it!" One is reminded of the observation by one judge: "
Justice, like the Ritz, is open to all."
Bedfordshire University reports surge of students since the name change.
What's in a name? Sometimes quite a lot! Somehow " University of Luton" did not sound all that appealing - why I am not sure! But now that it has amalgamated with the Polhill site in Bedford, the image has changed dramatically.
Record numbers of students have been applying to the University of Beds, new figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) have revealed.
Applications to the new institution, a merger of Luton University and De Montfort's Bedford campus, have risen by a 41.2 per cent compared with the number of students applying to the University of Luton in the same period last year, putting it top of the table among all universities.
Vice chancellor Prof Les Ebdon believes there are several reasons for the surge in those showing an interest in the university.
He said: "There has been enormous interest in the new university since its launch on August 1.
"Our multi-million pound development programme across campuses includes a new physical education and sport science centre, campus centre, theatre, learning pod, business suite and reception, all of which ensure our students benefit from the latest facilities and a super learning environment.
"Recent reports have also suggested that vocational courses are particularly popular and we are benefiting from this as we continue to build on our excellent reputation in areas such as sport, media, education, business and health.
"Furthermore, students will be encouraged by a new report from Universities UK which shows that graduates can earn up to £160,000 more over a working life than those without a degree."
Prof Ebdon added: "Our new bursaries scheme is also helping to support more full-time undergraduate students through university.
"Those choosing Beds this September will receive bursaries and scholarships ranging from £300 to £4,100.
"This is one of the most generous schemes on offer, but we will also continue to add to the number of scholarships available which will help those who need support the most."
Courses attracting the most interest at the University of Beds include sport, psychology, biomedical sciences and art and design.
Retirement
Some people cannot wait to reach retirement age. For others it is a crisis point in their lives, as they begin to come to terms with the perception of themselves as have-beens, no longer useful to society.
Some years ago a pre-retirement centre was established in Bedford, at that time under the auspices of what was formerly the Bedford College of Higher Education. I can recall being a visitor when Lord Goodman came to formally open the service and, as so often its the case, plant a tree.
As to the Centre's success, it depends upon whom one asks. For many it will undoubtedly meet a deeply-felt need. But there's the other side. I recall a caretaker at the College, retirement looming, telling me that he had visited the centre to find out what possibilities there were for him, and (so he reported) being told that there was nothing suitable for the likes of him. That may have been embroidered comment, but he certainly had come away feeling that it was more suited to retired middle-class people rather than he, and that his membership had not been encouraged. One of my colleagues used to tease the leader of the centre by asking her how the Middle Class Centre was getting on.
Retiring from higher education in my early fifties, albeit for another stage of work in life, I too had looked at the prospectus, but though there were topics of academic interest, the centre - at that time at least - did not seem to be addressing itself to the emotional and practical issues that arise from retirement, that can for some be a real grieving process. There are all sorts of crucial stages that most of us go through, that need to be anticipated and catered for, and in those crucial days this centre was woefully lacking. Fortunately, in my case, many of these were being catered for at my church, Christ Church in Denmark Street, where Jill and I feel very much at home and valued.
My impression of the Retirement Centre may have been unfair at the time, but they were real. A few years later, when the Internet was in its infancy, I had managed to secure sponsorship to provide the Centre with a computer and Internet provision, and volunteered to run courses on how to use the new facility, free of charge. My offer was rejected because the Centre felt the telephone costs would be too high. And I suppose that is the last I heard. Perhaps I do them an injustice and ought to re-visit the place!
Meanwhile, Bedford College (formerly Mander) has been offering a course which one would have helped the centre would have been running years ago. I got wind of this when I saw a press statement that reads as follows:
"There's much more to retirement than giving up work - cheers can turn to tears if you don't think it through:
*relationships can suffer (divorce statistics spike)
* your status in society can sink
* and there's always the question of money
* however with the right attitude it can be a wonderful walk to freedom
Recognising the issues facing folk as they approach retirement has been the basis of a very successful course run by Bedford College.
Retirement counselling expert Pat Cattley has an MSc in Mid and Later Life Planning - it involves psychology as well as money matters. Pat co-hosts the Catalyst courses which have been such a success so far:
“Retirement is very democratic - you no longer have the status of your job which shapes the way you see yourself and the way people treat you. It can be a terrible shock - or a marvellous sense of freedom depending on how you approach it.
“Relationships at home can suffer - if people have been at work eight hours a day, five days a week they can find it hard to be at home with their partners, just the same if both have been working and seen each other only in the evenings and at weekends!
“Some of us need help to make the most of retirement and the opportunities it brings,” says Pat, a lively, intelligent, positive person of a certain age.
On the courses her co-host Richard Gulliver helps people think through the financial challenges - no more the monthly pay packet - now a pension and a budget to manage. He talks people through various scenarios and even sets some group tasks to allow people to work out for themselves - for instance how best to invest a retirement lump sump. It may be that someone has always wanted to go on a world cruise or become a theatre “Angel” investor - and this may be the time to do it, if realistic finances allow.
The Catalyst courses which have been running for several years are staged bimonthly.
“Many of those who come along are sent by employers - enlightened employers who are to be congratulated for giving their staff two days out of their working lives to plan for the next 20 or 30 years of their lives. We know that those taking part really appreciate the gesture,” added Pat.
News that the Government will insist on carbon neutral building in the future has been welcomed by Bedford College, which shares the only Centre for Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in "Skills for Energy" in the country.
Bedford College is the only educational centre running CoVE-standard "Skills for Energy" courses in energy and sustainability . It runs a whole range of specialist learning areas on saving energy which are relevant to the construction industry . The College is hoping to offer two degree-level courses , one in Building Services and Sustainability and the other in Sustainable Construction, from September 2007.
"Anyone wanting to learn now how to build the carbon free homes in the future can sign up at Bedford College - we are leading the way in this area of construction technology," says Director of Technology Esin Esat.
Interested in old views of Bedford? I stumbled upon this site, and would urge a visit!
Early spring? Up till now my hay-fever symptoms have begun as regularly as clockwork on 25th March, give a day or two. They started on 28th February this year!
The Public Enquiry into the application of a developer to erect 323 houses along Norse Road is in full swing. The Borough is opposing the plan, but the final decision will be made by the Secretary of State in due course.
More soon!
Robert