Borough Councillors Report to Kempston Rural Parish Council September 2021
Rogers Court Opens Providing Accommodation for the Vulnerable
Bedford Borough Council have opened up Rogers Court, on Cauldwell Street, which is a block of 20 self-contained units for those rough sleeping (or at a risk of doing so).
SMART Bedford and Bedford Borough Council will have control of this building which will provide support services for its residents 24 hours a day.
East West Rail update
East West Rail have said that they have received 9800 individual responses to their latest consultation. They will release a report on their findings in due course.
Government Gives Bedford Borough £280k to support English Speakers of Other Languages
Central Government provided £280k to Bedford Borough Council so that they continue providing courses for English Speakers of Other Languages.
These courses are vitally important to integrate those whose first language is not English into our community.
Boundary Commission Make Final Recommendations for New Ward Boundaries
You can find the Boundary Commissions final recommendation for new ward boundaries on the following interactive map: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/20441
There is also a detailed report explaining their decisions: https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Bedford%20Final%20Recommendations%20Report.pdf
Ward Fund
The Ward Fund allows councillors to support community schemes. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss any potential projects.
Borough COVID-19 Update
As of the 5th September in Bedford there have been 20,770 cases since the start of the pandemic and there have been 488 registered cases in Bedford in the last 7 days.
If you would like the latest COVID snapshot (as of 5th September) please find it below: https://bbcdevwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/webfiles/Social%20Care%20Health%20and%20Community/Covid19/covid19-weekly-statistics-9Sep21.pdf
The Delta (Indian) variant is now the dominant strain in Bedford. Bedford Borough are asking residents’ to proceed with extreme caution as cases are continuing to rise.
More information available at: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/social-care-health-and-community/public-health/coronavirus/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
Vaccinations available for over 18s
Vaccinations are now being offered to all over 18s in the Borough. If residents have not received their first jab, or if it’s been eight weeks since their first vaccine, they can book an appointment at one of the below seven pharmacies, or at Bedford Heights.
Bedford Pharmacy, 9 Greenhill Street
Kidman’s Surgical Chemist, Castle Road
The Village Pharmacy, Meiklejohn Centre, Unit 3, Kingswood Way, Great Denham
Meiklejohn Pharmacy, Harrowden Road
Janssens Pharmacy, Ampthill Road
Bromham Pharmacy, Avoca House, Molivers Lane, Bromham
Smarta Healthcare, Stephenson Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park
Residents can either book direct at the pharmacy or go through the national booking centre to get their vaccine at Bedford Heights.
Bedford providing free taxis to and from Vaccination centres
Bedford Borough Council are providing free taxis for anyone in the borough getting a vaccine.
To get your free taxi ride, you just need to call one of the taxi operators from the list available at www.bedford.gov.uk/VaxiTaxi, give them the reference BBC VACCINE, and let them know where you need to be picked up and dropped off.