1. Coronavirus in Bedford Borough As of 1
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Wilshamstead Parish Council Wixams Parish Council Bedford Borough Councillor Report: 1. Coronavirus in Bedford Borough As of 11th November there have been 2673 cases of Coronavirus in Bedford Borough with 43,033 individual tests. This is a positive test rate of 6.2%. In the preceding 7 days there had been 211 new cases of Coronavirus in the Borough. During the last month, there was a spike in case in Wilshamstead ward, with 12 cases for the week ending 28th Oct and 20 cases during the week ending 4th Nov after having been below 3 cases the week before that. In the weekly Borough produced figures, only wards with 3 or more cases are shown, as it is believed that if you show the number of cases when it's lower than 3, the individuals might somehow be identified - I'm not convinced of the logic on this, but that's what the Mayor tells me at his weekly briefings. I phoned the Mayor when the Wilshamstead numbers went to the top of the Borough list and he then arranged for the Borough Chief Officer for Public Health to contact me to give it some context. Whilst the conversation was in confidence and I am unfortunately unable to disclose specifics, I can tell you that I am confident and satisfied that the appropriate authorities and agencies are dealing with the Wilshamstead ward cases and there has been a drop to 9 cases in Wilshamstead ward for the week ending 11th Nov. I am sorry that I cannot be more specific than that, but I hope you understand the reasons why. It would clearly be wrong for me to do anything that might help identify individuals, groups or families in the ward who have tested positive for COVID. What I can say is, regardless of the number of cases in the ward and the Borough, it remains important for everyone to follow the "hands, face, space" mantra and to observe the requirements of the current lockdown. When the lockdown ends, the Government has stated that we will revert to the tiered system and from discussion with the Mayor it remains important to keep figures as low as possible, so that we exit lockdown in Tier 1, rather than a higher tier. The Borough is at present very close to the threshold for Tier 2, therefore getting the numbers lower by the end of lockdown is a priority. As always, advice from the Borough Council is available here: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/social-care-health-and-community/public-health/coronavirus/ 2. G-Park Development Wixams As per previous reports, the G-Park application is still live and the deadline for further comments of the revised proposals is 17th November. 3. Connecting path between the two side of Wixams I have chased this yet again with planning and been advised that this could be now open by Spring and that “This is dependent on how quickly the house builders adjacent to the link finish their frontage properties and on L&Q Estates completing the power connection for the street lighting.” I have agreed to meet L&Q on site and look at what is holding this up and will be pressing for them to make this a priority, though obviously safety is improatnt and it would be wrong to open this pathway when not safe to do so. I have made it clear to the Planning department that expectations have been raised since their original promise that it would be open by the start of the school year and that an quick solution is needed. 4. Remembrance Day I attended the annual Remembrance Day service at the war memorial in Wilstead on Sunday 8th November and laid a wreath. The service this year was considerably reduced in size, owing to the distancing measures currently in place. Nonetheless, it is always for me an important day of the year. 5. Parking and congestion – Green Lane and school drop off points I met Andy Prigmore on 4th November and we walked the length of Green Lane, from the T- junction with Bedford Road up to the schools. We spent a good 45-50 minutes between approx. 8:15am - 9am and the traffic was as bad as ever. The way some people drive, seemingly without any consideration for others, is absolutely astonishing. Andy has since come back to me with the following proposals (his words): 1. Double yellow lines around the bends at Ladybird Walk and Harrier Leys. It should be noted that these roads are not yet adopted and therefore remain the responsibility of the developer. The costs of installing these lines will be £1500 – please let me know if you can secure the funding for these restrictions. 2. Zebra crossing – you would like us to consider installing a crossing on the road to the school. Again this road remains the responsibility of the developer and therefore will need their consent for providing this crossing. As discussed, we do not have any funds available for this work. The costs is likely to be in the region of £40,000. You agreed that you would speak to the developer and Parish Council to see if they can provide funding for this crossing. 3. School Keep Clear markings – Primary School. We could trial the implementation of SKC markings outside the Primary School to see if this makes a difference. You will need to obtain the agreement of the developer as the road is unadopted. The costs for carrying out this work on a temporary basis will be approx. £500, which if successful will then need to be made permanent at a cost of £1500. Please let me know if you wish to fund this work. I’d like to add this as an agenda item for a future Parish Council meeting to see what financial contributions (if any) the Parish Council is willing to make. I will also look at the availability of a financial contribution from the Ward Member Fund. I will also speak to L&Q re the costs of the zebra crossing. Despite the suggestion to the contrary, I think we should expect the Borough to make a financial contribution too, as the costs for this shouldn’t just fall on the local community. General Council Matters Motion to save Great Denham Golf Course and keep ‘urban gap’ A motion proposed by Cllr Jim Weir (Kempston Rural Ward) was accepted at Full Council on Wednesday 14 October which stated that the Council must uphold rulings that the Golf Course acts as an urban gap and that any development in the area must be made in connection with a golf course. Maternity Services in Bedford A motion proposed by Cllr Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant (Great Barford Ward) was passed at Full Council on 14 October, asked the Mayor to write to the Chief Executive of Bedford Hospital to ask them to increase the number of appointments a birth partner could attend during pregnancy. Though Bedford Hospital have not come in line with national guidelines they have allowed partners at 11-14 wk as well as 20wk scans. They are also allowed to attend the delivery suite further than just the established labour. Whilst this is a good change we are hoping the Mayor’s letter can help bring them in line with national guidelines. Planning department admit they are performing poorly In a recent Planning committee, Jon Shortland who is the Chief Officer for Planning admitted that the department was “keeping our heads above water.” He also said: “I thought the committee might find it interesting that figures were released by the Government this week looking at the performance of all 353 councils. We are currently ranked at 337th.” Though we were left disappointed by this revelation, it is not a surprise and Councillors have repeatedly raised the issue of poor planning performance with the Mayor and Chief Executive. Lane Closure into Bedford (Started Monday 19 October) Cadent Gas are carrying out essential works to divert gas services that will see a lane closure from the A6 Paula Radcliffe Way roundabout to Clapham Road. This will see one lane closed travelling southeast into Bedford past Sainsbury’s from 10am. This lane will be reopened by the middle of December, at the latest. This is part of wider works to make improvements to these roundabouts and help ease congestion as part of the A6 Northern Gateway. As part of the wider Transporting Bedford project, road and junction improvements have been carried out across the town which will improve congestion and road safety. School Admissions Bedford Borough Council’s online admissions system is now open to all parents and carers whose children are due to transfer to secondary or upper school in September 2021. Parents who live within the Borough who have a child in year 6 at primary school or year 8 at a middle school will need to transfer their child to a secondary school or upper school in September 2021. The transfer to Secondary 2021 round and the transfer to Upper 2021 round is now no longer available12 September 2020 via the Council website, closing 31 October 2020. For parents who have a child due to transfer to middle school in September 2021, the transfer to middle school application form will go live from 26 September 2020 until 15 January 2021. For children starting school in September 2021 (date of birth between 1 September 2016 – 31 August 2017), applications will open 26 September 2020 and will close 15 January 2021. For further information go to www.bedford.gov.uk/onlineadmissions New COVID-19 Marshals Operating In Bedford Borough In October we saw the first COVID-19 marshals take to the streets in Bedford town centre, providing advice and information about how to stay safe and slow the spread of coronavirus locally.