Houghton Regis News Desk

Domestic abuse can happen to anyone and can take many forms. That’s why we are asking as many people as possible to complete the survey – the feedback will help us think about how to improve services. The current UK Government defines domestic abuse as "any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass but is not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional. The survey is completely anonymous and will take no more than ten minutes. So, if you’re aged 16 or over, have experienced domestic abuse or know someone that has; or if you’re concerned about your behaviour towards your partner – we want your views. Central Bedfordshire Council is asking people to share their experiences of domestic abuse through a short survey. You have until Friday, 31 May

Central Bedfordshire Council will seal their Council Tax rate for 2019/20 tonight at their full council meeting. The meeting will be shown live from Chicksands at 6.30pm tonight (21 February) . In Houghton Regis the rate for a Band D property is likely to be set at £1976.58, with £98.45 going to Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority (2.99% rise), £175.40 going to the Houghton Regis Town Council *, £202.09 going to The Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire (£24 or 13.48% rise), £1,500.64 going to Central Bedfordshire Council (1% rise). *The increase in the average Band D Council Tax for Town and Parish Councils/Meetings is 2.79%.  Houghton Regis Town Council amount of the charge is unchanged from last year, but is the third highest Town or Parish rate in Bedfordshire, with Dunstable second highest, and the highest being Ampthill. The meeting can be seen live here The single person discount is 25% off your total council tax bill. You can claim single pers

l Four people have been charged with a total of 26 drug offences and a property has been closed after a warrant. The property in Houghton Regis will be closed for three months as a result of the warrant by beds Police Boson guns and gangs team alongside community officers from the town. A 53-year-old woman, two men aged 24 and 18, and a 17-year-old boy have all been charged with multiple counts of supplying Class A and Class B drugs. During Monday’s warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act, officers recovered around 70 bags of suspected cannabis as well as a large amount of cash. The 18-year-old man remains under investigation for possession of a firearm, while the 17-year-old boy has also been charged with possession of a bladed article in a public place. All four were remanded in custody at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday pending a future court date. Detective Inspector Aaron Kiff, from Boson, said: “We are pleased to have secured such a significant amount of

A local man, captured on CCTV fly-tipping a wardrobe and a Christmas tree, has been fined almost £1,700 after he failed to pay the original smaller fixed penalty. The incident occurred on 2 January 2018 at The Old Bottle Bank in Houghton Regis and was captured on CCTV by Central Bedfordshire Council. The council’s environmental protection officers investigated and linked the vehicle license plate to Sebastian Radzikowski from Longbrooke, Houghton Regis. Mr Radzikowski was interviewed and issued with a £300 fixed penalty notice after he confirmed he had emptied the waste from the vehicle. He accepted the fine but then failed to pay. Mr Radzikowski subsequently attended Luton Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to fly-tipping. He was sentenced to a fine of £792, ordered to pay costs of £825 and a victim surcharge of £80, amounting to a total cost of £1,697. Councillor Budge Wells, Deputy Executive Member for Community Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, sai

The North Chilterns Path Maintenance Volunteers (NCPMV) have been out earlier this month making the enjoyment of the Chilterns a little easier in a part of Houghton Regis parish. On the 6th February, the group took on the challenge of how to make crossing the very busy A505 (formerly the A5) at Chalk Hill, less hazardous. Both the Icknield Way, and the Chiltern Way cross the trunk road in Houghton Regis, shown as FP31 on this map. Link to this map - FP31 crosses the former A5, now A505 The A505 is situated on an embankment, about twenty feet or 6 metres above the surrounding fields, not far from White Lion. Highways England had provided mud-covered steps so that walkers might attempt to scale the embankments. Parts of the four sets of steps had rotted away, whilst a much-needed handrail lay, in part, on the ground near one set of steps. The volunteer's challenge was to clear the vegetation that had taken root on and around the steps, replace absent and rotted

Luton and Dunstable University Hospital (L&D) is gearing up to celebrate its 80th birthday on 14 February and the local community is invited to join in the preparations and celebrations. There will be lots happening on the day including live music, an exhibition tracing the hospital’s history, special guests, a service of celebration and an 80th birthday themed cake competition to be judged by a local celebrity! -------- Queen Mary officially opened the L&D  on 14 February 1939. -------- In the run up to 14 February, the hospital is keen to hear from patients who have used the hospital over the decades, maybe with generations of children who have been born here, or who have worked here, who would be willing to get involved and share their stories. The icing on the cake would be if we could find a local resident who was a patient at the L&D when the hospital first opened in 1939! Because the NHS wasn’t created until 1948, the hospital was built, equi

The BBC have rated Central Bedfordshire 4 out of 10. Their survey list ranks 378 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland from highest to lowest with an average score out of 10 = 5. Central Bedfordshire scores 4 out of ten. 4G coverage 9 Proportion of area with good 4G signal: 93% Bus services 2 Number of journeys per day: 608 Metres of bus routes per square km: 2,893 Going out 0 Number of bars, clubs and pubs: 189 Number of music events: 25 Employment 9 Number of young people claiming welfare benefits per 1,000: 14 Mental health care 10 Proportion of monthly NHS mental health therapy targets hit: 100% Wild land 1 Proportion of area that is natural land: 6% Rent 6 Average price per bedroom: £378 Sports facilities 1 Number of sports facilities: 214 Youth population 2 Percentage aged 16-25: 10% Number of young people moving out of area: 686 Source: BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-46815257 --> https://twitter.com/yokoono/stat

Bedfordshire Police have joined other police forces nationwide. Now they will not accept reports of lost property, and they will accept only certain types of found item. The changes took place nationally at the start of  February after the Chief Constables’ Council agreed it as a way of reducing non-essential demand and the associated costs and bureaucracy generated for call centres and front counters. The police service has traditionally accepted the responsibility of recording lost and found property, despite there being no statutory duty to maintain a system of recording non-evidential property. Found items dealt with by police will reduce and a consistent approach will be adopted across the country. This will help reduce call volumes and remove an unnecessary burden on policing. Jay Khan, Bedfordshire Police's enquiry office manager, said: “As with any change to a long-standing convention, it will take time for people to get used to this new way of working. “T

The chairman of Dunstablians Rugby Union Football Club has made clear his frustration with the loss of trees and shrubs on the club's border with Bedford Road, Bidwell, Houghton Regis. In a statement to Houghton Regis News Desk, DRUFC chairman, James Noel wrote, “Unfortunately, Dunstablians RUFC were not informed of the decision to remove the trees and bushes that have lined our boundary since the club opened on Bedford Road all those years ago.  So we were as surprised as the other local residents to see that the corner of our land, nearest to the precarious Thorn turn, was now totally exposed to passing traffic.  We believe by exposing the rugby fields in this manner, there is an increased risk to both people on our land and passing drivers - as they will now no doubt be distracted by being able to see many people running around in front of them, rather than just a tall line of trees & bushes. “We immediately challenged the [Central Bedfordshire] Council on this matte