Houghton Regis News Desk

by  Carolyn Londer-Ward, Communications Manager, Greensand Trust

Rushmere Country Park in Heath and Reach will host its third Local Food Festival on Sunday 8 September. The park’s Tree Tops Café is proud to support local suppliers of fresh, quality produce, and this very popular event aims to celebrate the great quality local produce this area has to offer. There’ll be a great variety of food and drink on offer plus a wide range of entertainment for all the family!

In terms of food and drink, available visitors will be spoiled for choice – make sure to arrive feeling hungry to make the most of what’s on offer! As well as the food you can eat on-site, there’ll be food and drink you can take home too.

This event is one of the largest held at the park which is run on a not for profit basis by local charity The Greensand Trust. Visitors and stallholders attending the event are also giving their much-valued support to the park which offers over 400 acres of woodland, heathland and meadows …

BEGINNERS SEWING Sew... we have two Beginners sewing classes in Houghton Regis starting on Monday 23rd September evening classes 7-9pm and Thursday afternoon classes 26th September 1-3pm. Each class has 10 weekly sessions.

The aim of the courses is to take you through the workings of your sewing machine. We will show you everything from how to thread your machine to maintain it. Each week I will take you through a project that will make the use of different functions of your machine helping you build confidence. I will show you hand sewing and mending and you will learn differences in materials and threads for different sewing jobs, zips and buttons by the later end of the course basic patterns.

We have two available bank sewing machines which can be used so you can Join the course and find out how to use a machine before you buy one. However, this is a first-come basis.
Courses are £120 and placesare booked with a £20 deposit remaining amount paid at the first class. There are 12 pla…

Kerb Parking can be Controlled Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive has today (Tuesday, 20 August) approved the decision to adopt a revised parking strategy.

The strategy has been informed by a public consultation and aims to manage parking in Central Bedfordshire by supporting local businesses and allowing town centres to thrive, whilst also encouraging the use of sustainable transport options.

Executive - Tue, 20th Aug 2019 - 9:30 am - Central Bedfordshire Council Webcasting

Parking is a real issue for lots of residents, everyone wants accessible parking as most people use or have access to a car, but often space is limited, and inconsiderate parking can cause road safety concerns.

To focus on how it can best support the management of parking, the council has set out nine key objectives. These focus on road safety, making Central Bedfordshire and its town centres as accessible to residents, businesses and visitors as possible, ensuring growth and prosperity and parking scheme ma…

Central Bedfordshire is investing £700k in new grant schemes this year, designed to support local groups to meet the needs of their communities.

At today’s Executive meeting (20 August 2019) two new schemes were approved and the plans to launch a third were endorsed.

Executive - Tue, 20th Aug 2019 - 9:30 am - Central Bedfordshire Council Webcasting

The new Ward Councillor Grant Scheme will enable each of the 59 Central Bedfordshire Councillors to work with groups in their areas to explore how relatively small amounts of grant funding could make a difference.

Whether the groups are involved in cultural, environmental, sporting or social projects, they will be able to apply, provided they can match fund the grant they are seeking by alternative means to council funding.

Each Central Bedfordshire Councillor will have access to £2,000 which they can either support allocating in small grants to multiple organisations, or see the money allocated in its entirety to a single group who have ne…

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive has today (Tuesday, 20 August 2019) approved expansion of Thornhill Primary School in Houghton Regis

Subject to successful planning applications, it will mean that the school will expand by 60 places in each year group from September 2021.

Executive - Tue, 20th Aug 2019 - 9:30 am - Central Bedfordshire Council Webcasting

The additional school places will be provided through a new building on land secured from the neighbouring new housing development adjoining the existing school. Funding for the expansion will total £7.8million and comes from section 106 contributions from the developer.

Admission arrangements for the new site would be finalised and published in time for the school admissions process for children who are due to start school in September 2021.

Cllr Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: “The amount of new homes planned for and currently being built in Houghton Regis shows just what a popular place…

This morning students all over Central Bedfordshire discovered the outcome of studying hard over the last two years.

On a busy day across 10 colleges and sixth forms in Central Bedfordshire, early indications for provisional A-level results show an increase in the average points score per entry across Central Bedfordshire of 1.2 points to 30.96 (C+ grade).

The average score for academic students (which includes those doing extended A-Levels) is 31.06 (C+ grade), up 1.2 points from 2018.

Technical/vocational students’ average score saw a big increase of 9.1 points from last year to 36.51 (Distinction grade).

The average point score per entry for applied general studies saw a 1.9 point increase to 29.1 (average Merit+ grade).

And there have been plenty of individual success stories too. Here's a rou d-up from south west Bedfordshire:

Ten students from All Saints Academy have received a university place and many are pursuing apprenticeships in a vocational setting, for example in the…

A local man captured littering on CCTV in Dunstable has been fined over £1,300, after he failed to pay the original smaller fixed penalty.
The incident occurred on 13 September 2018 in a car park located in Court Drive, Dunstable. Central Bedfordshire Council’s CCTV cameras provided clear evidence of paper and cardboard being taken from the vehicle and being thrown in the bushes.
The council’s environmental protection officers investigated and found that the vehicle license plate belonged to Mr Harry Lay from Houghton Regis.
Mr Lay was fined £80 for the offence, with the option to pay £50 if he settled the fine within eight days. However, he refused to pay, despite being sent numerous reminders.
At Luton Magistrates Court last week (8 August), Mr Lay admitted that the CCTV showed him littering and he pleaded guilty to the offence. He was ordered to pay total costs of £1,330. 
Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “This…

Bandhan Group with support from all Bedford’s Communities of Indian origin are delighted to be organising a free event to celebrate India’s Independence Day.  Join us at Harpur Square in Bedford to find out more about the joint British / Indian heritage, whilst celebrating the positive and diverse contributions our communities have made across Bedfordshire. 

To celebrate the event, several guests will be joining us including Her Excellency Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India and Dave Hodgson the Mayor of Bedford Borough who will be opening the event. 
Professor Gurch Randhawa, Deputy Lieutenant for Bedfordshire, Mohammad Yasin, MP and Meryl Dolling, High Sheriff of Bedfordshire will be attending the event.  Professor Randhawa said: “It is a privilege to join the celebrations of Indian Independence Day and acknowledge the enormous contribution the Indian community has made to Bedfordshire’s thriving and diverse population.”

To mark the occasion, there will be a variety of perform…

6th August 2019



LOCAL FOOTBALL TEAM BACKED BY CHEQUERS PUB

Houghton Chequers, formerly FC Harvest head to the top of the league with their new sponsorship thanks to their local pub Chequers  Houghton Regis Hungry Horse, who will be playing in the Leighton and District  Sunday Football League.

The pub has shown their support by raising much needed funds for the team and will continue to do so  throughout the coming 2019 / 2020 season.


Ray Keogh, general manager of the Chequers  Houghton Regis, said: We are really pleased we have been able to help provide the Houghton Chequers Football Club with much needed funds, which will go towards new team kits and equipment. The Chequers  Houghton Regis has been supported by the local community for a number of years and its great for us to be able to give back, and our guests are as enthusiastic as we are.”

Club joint manager and spokesperson for the Houghton Chequers, Dale Cobain, said:  Being backed by The Chequers  Houghton Regis has really bo…

Another outline application to build a further 24 houses on a site adjacent to the Taylor Wimpey site at Aylesbury Drive, off Bedford Road, was approved by Central Bedfordshire's Development Control Committee last month.


Location:Highfield Barns, Bedford Road, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 6JP
Parish Name:Houghton Regis
Description:Outline Application: Formation of a new access to serve existing residential development and residential development of up to 24 dwellings together with an enhanced footpath link and associated landscaping

Optimis Consulting was praised by ward CBC councillor, Susan Goodchild, for consulting with the Houghton Regis Town Council, and herself. Neither the Town Council or Cllr Goodchild had raised objections.

Cllr Goodchild did raise concern about the number of works off of Bedford Road and it was pointed out to her that traffic calming measures were included in the schemes. Cllr Goodchild also queried that outstanding works from S106 of the Taylor Wimpe…