Houghton Regis News Desk

From Police.uk. Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past two months: October 2015 November 2015 All crime 675 648 Anti-social behaviour 253 238 Bicyc

Support the local businesses in Bedford Square, Houghton Regis. There is still time to check out some of the shops you don't normally go in, for your Christmas Shopping! Nevil's will be even be open on Christmas Day, should you have run out of a certain drink, or sundry grocery items. Houghton Regis News Desk photographer, Alan Winter, snapped up these photos on Saturday afternoon. "I picked up some bargains, too. Some very nice Royal Doulton plate scenes were on sale at Age UK. They'll help me to check another person off my Christmas present list!" You'll find these businesses on the top floor: £poundstretcher 24th Dec, Christmas Eve, 7.30 to 5pm 25th Christmas Day, CLOSED 26th, Boxing Day, 9am - 6pm 27th open until 4pm 28th, 29th, 30th,  9am - 8pm 31st, New Years Eve 9am - 5pm 1st January, New Years Day, 10-4pm Hair.comb 24th Dec, Christmas Eve, closes 4pm 25th Christmas Day, CLOSED 26th, Boxing Day, CLOSED 27th

Santa Claus is coming to town ! On Sunday 20th December , the Santa Crew will be parading from the Polar Bear house in Chelsea Gardens to Bromley Gardens, then up to Go Houghton, and back to base via the Baptist Church. On Wednesday 23rd December , the Crew will be meeting at the Hillsborough Shops going through Tithe Farm Road to Bedford Square and then back via Sundon Road. The start time on both days will be 6pm, and donations will be collected for the Houghton Regis Town Mayor's Charities. Santa will be pushing his big loud music trolley, blasting out carols and Chrimbo music! Please, do come along and sing and dance with us as we make our way around our hometown. If you want to bring some small sweet treats for the kids please do so. Ian Laken wrote on his Facebook Page, "It's mostly a fun idea for the grown ups to get dressed up and walk the estate singing carols and handing out sweets to the kids. Everyone is welcome to join in so just come alon

It may be a merry season but if Christmas is proving to be a wake-up call when it comes to your drinking then local support is available to help you make a change for the better. Central Bedfordshire's  shared drug and alcohol support service, Path 2 Recovery (P2R) is open throughout the festive period. P2R is a new one-stop service which  launched in September and provides advice, treatment and support to adults over the age of 18 in Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire whose lives are affected by drug or alcohol use. The new P2R service includes Hubs in Dunstable and Bedford and residents can choose to drop-in to the Hub most convenient to them, without an appointment or referral, and seek help with changing their drinking habits. In addition to visiting a P2R Hub, you can also visit the Don’t Bottle It Up website at your own convenience, where you can take a free, quick and confidential alcohol test, which can help identify the signs of harmful drinking, and conne

Right Track has been celebrating Christmas this year with a 60's party at Sandringham Hub in Houghton Regis.  The community group held the themed event last week at Aldwyck's business hub on Sandringham drive. Guests enjoyed vintage style food, music and a quiz featuring questions from the 60's!  Over 30 people attended the event including Cllr Susan Goodchild, members of Houghton Regis Baptist Church, the over ​-​ fifties  group, ​'​ My Focus ​'​ employability programme, the Cafe Champions steering group plus, Aldwyck Housing Group ​,​ and Right Track directors. Right Track is a Community Interest Company run by people with a learning disability in Central Bedfordshire.  For more information about the HUB Community Café project contact Karen on 07999 859980 or email righttrack@hotmail.co.uk

In the early morning of 4th December thieves were interrupted in the process of stealing lead from the roof of All Saints Church, Chalgrave. The church is situated off the main road between Houghton Regis and Toddington. Three men ran off across the fields, leaving behind about half the lead they had stripped off. The other half had already been taken away in a van. The metal was removed from much of the lower roof on the south side of the church. According to the Chalgrave parish web site, an immense amount of damage has been caused to the Grade I listed building. It will probably render the building unusable over the Christmas period. The repairs will be costly and are not entirely covered by insurance. Photo:  http://www.chalgravepc.org.uk/audacious-theft-from-church/ The inside of the roof was photographed, here, in 2013: Photo: A D Winter, 2013. Repairs will be costly and are not entirely covered by insurance. Rosie Cooper and her fiance attend Chalgrave Chu

This vehicle was parked in a bay in Tithe Farm Road at the junction with Ash Tree Road on Tuesday 1st December 2015 from 12.45 until 15.15. Substantial damage was caused to the offside rear passenger door and adjacent panel. Unfortunately the driver of the offending vehicle failed to stop or pass on contact details. If anyone saw this incident or can help with giving further information, would they kindly contact the Police on 101 or the Road Collision Unit on 01438 757171.

A Market Town Regeneration Fund has been launched by Central Bedfordshire Council. Under the scheme up to £4 million is available across the authority's area, and bids will be accepted between £25,000 and £1 million. To qualify for the money, the bids have to be matched by 50% funding. On Monday evening next week, Houghton Regis Town Councillors will be deliberating over whether or not to bid for this funding. Clearly they will need to have an objective and need to explain the impact of anything they decide. If they decide to go ahead with a bid, they only have until 29th February 2016 to apply. Current thinking is that there are things that need doing in the town centre to make it a continued viability, and to keep it a vibrant place that attracts shoppers. Some ideas discussed will have staffing implications. The 50% matched funding could come from banked reserves, or be loaded onto the Council Tax precept. Ideas that councillors have already discussed in the Town Counc

New data for your area has been published on Police.uk. Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past two months: September 2015 October 2015 All crime 674 675 Anti-social behaviour 274 253 Bicycle theft 17 18 Burglary

Team members from the A5 M1 Link Road Scheme a joint venture between Costain and Carillion (CCJV) in Luton have been busily visiting local schools, this week, in support of Road Safety Week. Road Safety Week is the UK’s yearly flagship event to promote safer road use, supported by the Department of Transport. Over the course of the week, team members provided an engaging presentation to over 500 children. Pupils between the ages of 4 and 11 years old, from Chalton Primary, Thornhill Primary and Thomas Whitehead Church of England Primary School took part. Topics covered included: identifying the different types of safe crossings (from traffic lights, pelican/zebra crossings), to why the need for a lollipop lady/man, to identifying the various hazards associated with roads. Special emphasis was covered on the three main rules when crossing a road ‘Stop’ ‘Look’ and ‘Listen’. To assist capturing the children’s attention and to ensure the presentation was not only educational bu