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Showing posts from March, 2016

M1 Motorway Disruption Bedfordshire 30 March to 9 April

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Travel on the M1 will be disrupted during late March and early April in Bedfordshire while new bridges are constructed between junctions 11 and 12.
Traffic flow will be managed using temporary lane closures and a reduced 50mph speed limit. Over the period of the works, the speed limit will be in place and monitored by average-speed cameras.
Work has commenced on both carriageways.  Highways England will maintain a minimum of three lanes of traffic in each direction on the motorway. While the new junction is being built, the hard shoulder on the M1 will be closed between junctions 11 and 12 in both directions.  Three lanes will remain open during the day with traffic running on lanes 1, 2 and 3 with occasional overnight lane closures in place.   
The schedule below lists only road works which include full carriageway closures requiring diversions. All planned roadworks are subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.
1/4/2016: Change to plan - On 2nd April, the …
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​Man U's Rio Ferdinand Foundation to Set Up in Houghton Regis

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Rio Ferdinand teams with Central Bedfordshire Council in bid to leave lasting Legacy in Houghton Regis
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand has today announced Government-backed plans to partner Central Bedfordshire Council and regenerate one of the most deprived areas in Houghton Regis with a world-class sports academy and education and community facilities to transform the lives of young people.
Legacy – the former Manchester United defender's regeneration company, set up in 2015 with footballers Mark Noble (West Ham United) and Bobby Zamora (Brighton) – will partner Central Bedfordshire Council to revitalise Kingsland area of Houghton Regis.
Set in the 22-hectare Kingsland site, this is an innovative pilot scheme which Legacy aims to roll out across the UK. It will see Houghton Regis benefit from a leading sports academy – with potential as the base for the Rio Ferdinand Foundation – while the former England international will personally coach aspiring young footballers. With spor…
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2016, March: Charitable Funding Opportunities For Your Group or Organisation

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Funding E-Bulletin

NewsletterMarch 2016Voluntary and Community ActionWelcome to the March 2016 issue of the Funding E-Bulletin from Voluntary and Community Action.

ACT FoundationACT provides grants to individuals and other charities, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for people in need, (specifically the mentally and physically disabled).Applications can be submitted at any time. The Grants Manager, The ACT Foundation (ACT), 61 Thames Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1QW, Tel: 01753 753900
E-mail: info@theactfoundation.co.uk  Website: http://www.theactfoundation.co.uk/

The Andrew Lloyd Webber FoundationFunding is available to not-for-profit organisations, including charities, companies and community trusts, for projects in the areas of culture and the arts that make a real and ongoing difference to people's lives in the UK.Applications can be made at any time. The Foundation aims to provide a decision within five to eight months. Sarah Miller, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Fo…
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M1 Diversions For Scheduled Work on Junction 11A

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Bridge beam lifts are due to start this evening, 16th March, for the Luton Road bridge over the M1 at Junction 11A.
The main bridge for the new Jct 11a will follow on. The first six closures are for the Luton Road  Bridge. 
The overnight carriageway closures take place between 10pm and 6am, and are between junctions 11-12, and the diversion routes are:
Southbound: M1 southbound traffic will exit at junction 12 and turn right along the A5120. At the roundabout in Houghton Regis, traffic will turn right towards Dunstable when reaching  the cross road junction adjacent to the National Tyres and Auto Care Centre diverted traffic will turn left and head south to the A505.  Northbound: M1 northbound traffic will exit at junction 11 and turn left along the A505. At the junction with the A5, diverted traffic will turn right and at the traffic lights adjacent to the National Tyres and Auto Care, diverted traffic will turn right towards Houghton Regis. At the roundabout in Houghton Regis, traffi…
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Contractors Sought for Waste Transfer Site at Thorn Turn

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​Central Bedfordshire ​ Council is seeking to procure an arrangement for the management and operation of its Waste Transfer Station (WTS) to be built at Thorn Turn​ in Houghton Regis.​

The facility has been designed to accommodate all CBC waste apart from green garden waste and HWRC recycling​, and will mean that the Tidy Tip at French's Avenue can be decommissioned.​
​The Council are expecting that the new  Transfer Station will be​come​ operational ​by this time next year.  The operating contract term ​will be  14 years with a break clause at 7 years.​ 
Closing date for the  receipt of PQQ (Pre Qualification Questionnaire) 12 noon Thursday 21st April 2016, closing date for receipt of ITT (invitation of Tender) 12 noon Friday 17th June 2016.​ More information from CBC website .

​Council's tidy tips​
​Photo: The Thorn Turn Site, north of Houghton Regis Chalk Quarry; A D Winter​







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Houghton Regis Central- Investigation of Land to Start Next Week

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As part of the Central bedfordshire Council's plan to develop an Independent Living Scheme on the former Co-op site in Houghton Regis, a number of physical land surveys will need to be carried out in coming weeks.

The proposals to include some 170 apartments and shared community spaces and shops, are being drawn up and designed at the moment. Part of that process includes carrying out some archeological and land surveys ahead of submitting a planning application.

The first of these surveys will be carried out next week by Terrain Surveys Limited from Monday, 14 – Friday, 18 March 2016. The survey itself will be done from the street with no anticipated impact to residents but we wanted to keep everyone fully up to date. More will start on 21 – 24 March and 4 April respectively – again, with no anticipated disruption.
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Planned Overnight M1 Closures for March

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Road closures for 16 to 18 March 2016, 21 to 23 March 2016 and 30 March to 2 April 2016
There will be road closures on the M1 north and southbound junctions 11 to 12. These closures are to enable beam lifts to take place on the carriageway. 
The schedule below lists only road works which include full-carriageway closures requiring diversions. All planned roadworks are subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.
Please note that in the schedule the date given for a night-time closure is the date on which the closure begins. For example, a night-time closure will take place between 10pm and 6am - They will begin at 10pm on the first night and end at 6am on the last night.
16, 17 and 18 March The M1 northbound will be closed between junctions 11 and 12.
21, 22 and 23 March The M1 southbound will be closed between junction 12 and 11.
30 March to 2 April The M1 southbound will be closed between 12 and 11.
This information is supplied by Highways England and may be subjec…
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Quiz Will Help You Stay Healthy After 70 And Beyond

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Living healthily in midlife can double your chances of being healthy at 70 and beyond​. Start Quiz!​
This week has marked the launch of 'One You', a ground-breaking new campaign to help adults across the country avoid future poor health caused by modern day life. Everyday habits and behaviours – such as eating too much unhealthy food, drinking more than is recommended, continuing to smoke and not being active enough – are responsible for around four in ten deaths in England. The 'One You' campaign aims to encourage adults, particularly those in middle age, to take control of their health to enjoy significant benefits now, and in later life.
The new campaign from Public Health England will help adults in Central Bedfordshire to be more active, eat well, drink less and be smoke free. One You will also provide information on how people can reduce ​​ their stress levels and sleep better.
It is encouraging adults to start by taking a new online health quiz, called 'How Are Y…
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Bedfordshire Cyber Police Report Back After First 6 Months

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Bedfordshire Police are claiming a proactive approach to tackling online crime.
Launched in 2015, the force Cyber Crime Investigation team provides support to inquiries taking place across the force as well as own cyber-dependent crimes.
In 6 months they have examined 870  laptops, phones, hard drives, USBs and cameras.
323 cyber crimes have been reported, 243 of those were for harassment, 35 for fraud, 18 for sexual offences.
42 crimes were resolved, with 26 resulting in a suspect being charged.
Interestingly, they reckon that the estimated height of data which can be extracted from a 1 terabyte hard drive – a standard on many laptops – if printed onto double-sided A4 paper sheets would be 11.25 miles high. That would a lot of trees!
Click for Further details
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Thank you to those who Cleaned for the Queen

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Across Central Bedfordshire, groups of residents, town and parish councils and local organisations turned out in force and with national pride to Clean for the Queen, the nationwide tidy-up event over the weekend (Friday, 4 March to Sunday 6 March).

There were 28 organised litter blitzes, which were mainly led by ward councillors and town and parish councils, whilst a number of spontaneous clean-ups also took place across Central Bedfordshire, in streets, parks and grass verges.

Altogether across the UK, more than a million people have been out and about clearing up the places where they live to help celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday in April.

The campaign, backed by organisations including the Women’s Institute, the National Trust and the RSPB, as well as businesses including McDonald’s, Costa, Greggs, KFC and Wrigley and anti-litter charities such as Keep Britain Tidy and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, was the biggest community-led clean-up the country has ever seen.

As p…
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2016, January - Latest Data From Local Police

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Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past two months:December 2015January 2016 All crime 670 671 Anti-social behaviour 258 242 Bicycle theft 13 16 Burglary 81 76 Criminal damage and arson 52 73 Drugs 5 …
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More Popular Stories

Lidl Plans For 1.2million sq ft Regional Distribution Centre

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by Alan D Winter, Houghton Regis News Desk
Lidl, a family supermarket that takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices, is on the verge of starting work on building its biggest ever Distribution Centre on Houghton Regis' doorstep.

Outline plans for the development were agreed under the existing Central Bedfordshire Council consent (CB/12/03613/OUT) and now a reserved matters application has been submitted. The company is now seeking approval for these plans, which could be concluded in March 2020.

The development proposals comprise the construction of a Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) of over  1.2 million sq ft of warehouse floor space, 612 associated car parking spaces, 141 HGV stacking spaces, 196 loading docks, 20 E-charging spaces, a drivers lounge, smoking shelters, two bicycle stores with 104 spaces for bicycles, four haulier cabins, three battery enclosures, a generator enclosure, sprinkler tanks, pump house hydr…
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Angry Resident Wants Peace Back as Chalk Pit Tourism Takes Off

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By Alan Winter updated 27 May

 An irate resident has contacted Houghton Regis News Desk to vent their frustrations about visitors to the Chalk Pit clogging up their unadopted roads.

The resident, who did not want to be named, wrote, “As a resident on Fieldstone, we’re after some help. The quarry has been advertised on social media so it now has visitors from a wide area. They are blocking our residential roads, leaving rubbish and glass everywhere in the quarry. Having BBQs, drinking and meeting for social gatherings. They are drinking and dancing in the streets gone 11pm. There needs to be parking and the quarry managed before all the recent hard work is undone. We want peace back.

“This parking and quarry issue has been going on for the last few weeks after advertising has appeared on social media. We heard someone say they had driven from Milton Keynes, and a neighbour has stated that 5 people he knows from Hemel Hempstead have attended. Just this morning, a friend from work saw it …
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L&D Hospital Mani Car Park Closes From 13 July - Bigger Car Park To Be Built

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Parking for visitors and patients at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital will get a welcome boost by the end of the year, as work gets underway on a new four-level car park on the footprint of the existing Lewsey Road car park.
The new car park will double the current provision for patients and visitors, and also provide more accessible parking as well as bicycle parking for patients, visitors and staff.










The new design will also improve the flow of cars, and reduce queuing and congestion on Lewsey Road.
The existing main visitor and patient car park (on Lewsey Road, opposite the main entrance to the hospital), will be closing on Monday 13 July.
Alternative parking will be available on site, in Farringdon Fields, off Calnwood Road. The Trust is reallocating staff spaces for the period.
But overall numbers may be limited so the Trust is asking patients and visitors not to bring their car if they can possibly avoid it, but to be dropped off instead. A new temporary drop-off point will…
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Consultation on New Secondary School in Houghton Regis

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Initial designs have been produced for a new 1,120 place secondary school, to be built on the Kingsland Campus, Houghton Regis, for September 2022. The proposal includes all the specialist and non-specialist teaching space required, as well as providing a sports hall, outdoor sports provision and car parking. The external appearance of the school buildings is subject to further design work. 
The concept for the new school is based on the superblock model and includes a 3-storey main classroom block, with a separate sports hall. This type of design is suggested by the Department for Education (DfE), and has been used for many new secondary schools across the country
The Council is currently at the pre-planning design stage, and is taking the opportunity to seek the views of the local community ahead of the planning application being submitted. The date for submission of the planning application has been tentatively set for the end of August 2020. 
This consultation is an important part of…
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Bidwell Heights - Go Ahead for New Build Despite Crime Concerns

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A development of 336 homes has been given the go ahead under delegated powers by Central Bedfordshire Council despite Bedfordshire Police having concerns that the layout would encourage crime.

The site is situated between the SSSI Houghton Regis Chalk Pit edge and Blue Waters woodland.




Bedfordshire Police Liaison Objected to the scheme, 'as it is considered that the proposed layout and design would present opportunities for crime'.

See planning layout - (pdf)

Another key concern came from Wildlife Trusts BCN who also drew attention to anti-social behaviour. Their concerns are listed as,

'Concerns regarding development so close to the chalk cliffs associated with the SSSI. The Trust strongly recommend that a robust engineering operation is designed and incorporated into the plans, at this stage of the process, to ensure that the stability of the chalk cliff is not weakened as part of any development that takes place in this location. The Trust also consider that there should…
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Houghton Regis Academy Closure - Public Meeting 10 March

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Updated 2 March 2020

The Secretary of State for Education, in mutual agreement with the Trust, has now made the substantive and final decision to proceed to the closure of Houghton Regis Academy.  However, in order to reduce the impact of the closure,  a proposed closure transition plan has been agreed to which means the Academy will remain open for some year groups until 31 August 2022.

There will now be a ‘listening period’. The listening period is an opportunity for stakeholders and interested parties such as pupils, parents and staff to be provided with more information about the proposed closure process. It is also an opportunity for stakeholders to submit their views on how the process can best be managed. This period started today, 28 February, and will end at 5pm on 27 March 2020.

Parkside ward Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) councillor said, “I am aware of the concern the current position will be causing pupils, parents and the wider community at Houghton Regis. I am worki…
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Plans For 66 bed care Home, Nursery & Shops at Lower Thorn Village

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(updated 14 June 2020)As part of the already approved outline development plans for the Lower Thorn area of Houghton Regis, detailed planning applications are now being submitted for a local centre. A decision for these applications is hoped for by mid-August 2020.
Houghton Regis Town Council will discuss the plans on Tuesday 16th June. A final decision will be made by Central Bedfordshire Council. The Town Council's virtual meeting agenda is available to download. If you wish to participate in this meeting you will need to supply an email address before 3pm on the day of the meeting in order to attend virtually by emailing your request. Instructions on Remote Meeting Guidance can be found here.
In all, three planning applications have been submitted to develop a local integrated centre on behalf of  HDD Houghton Regis Retail Limited. 



1. 66 Bed Care Home A 66-bed care home and its associated car park, means of access and landscaping.  Split over 3 floors. If permission were granted…
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Police Appeal After Man Robbed in Houghton Regis

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Bedfordshire Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was robbed in Houghton Regis.
At around 10pm on Saturday 1st August, the man was on Bedford Square, near the park, when he was approached by five offenders. The group attacked the victim and stole his phone, his bank card, and a quantity of cash.
During the attack, the victim sustained superficial cuts to his face, stomach and forearm, which required medical attention but are not serious or life-threatening.
The offenders are described as young men, wearing face masks with their hoods up, riding bikes.
PC Helen Pecorini, investigating, said: “Thankfully the victim only suffered minor injuries, but was left distressed by this incident. We are appealing to anyone in the area who may have the offenders before or after the incident.”
Anyone who can offer any help in this matter is asked to get in contact with the police, or contact Crimestoppers.  Alternatively, information about this incident can be reported via police reporting webs…
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Amazon Prime Scam Has Cost Victims More Than £1m

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Bedfordshire Police is issuing a fraud warning after a number of Bedfordshire residents fell victim to a scam, with one losing their entire life savings.

Action Fraud has reported that the scam was first reported in October 2019 and since has cost the victims more than £1 million.

The scam is carried out by phone call, with the victim receiving an automated phone message that they have been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription.

How It Works They are subsequently instructed to ‘press 1’ to cancel the transaction. When they do this, they are directed to a fraudster posing as an Amazon customer service representative.

The fraudster advises the victim that their subscription was purchased fraudulently and that remote access to their computer is required in order to fix a security flaw that will prevent it from reoccurring.

The unsuspecting victim then downloads software which grants the scammers remote access to their computer, including personal and financial information.

Other vari…
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Supermarket Responds to Criticism that Shelves & Fridges were Empty

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Morrisons supermarket in Houghton Regis has responded to complaints that fresh food stocks were depleted and freezers were empty. The complaints were made on a popular public Facebook Group.
The Houghton Regis store is located in a residential area and does have restrictions on the times when lorries can make morning deliveries to the store. 
Writing on the Facebook Group, 'Houghton Regis ......Whats Occurring in our Community???' Laura Donovan, a Logistics Supervisor at Rank Xerox, started off by writing, on Saturday 1st August,
 “Don’t know what’s going on at Morrison’s lately but these past two weeks replenishment of fresh foods is just not happening. This morning at about 10.15am there was no fresh salad products & very little fresh veg. I am not blaming the floor staff as there was a lot of them trying to replenish but it was obvious to me that someone/somewhere in management got it wrong with delivery expectations. I’m sure it’s difficult but if you shop in the 4th larg…
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Houghton Regis local news, events, council news, going on in Houghton Regis and nearby villages, Bedfordshire, UK. Editor Alan Winter

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Houghton Regis News Desk

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