Nov 2014  Conservative Councillors working for you

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ROAD SAFETY REVIEW IN WHIPSNADE Following discussions with cyclists, pedestrians & the Parish Council, Central Beds are reviewing road safety & signage in the Bison Hill area

TRANSPORT FOR STUDHAM PUPILS Councillor Richard Stay intervened to change a decision not to provide school transport for Studham pupils to attend their school of choice

With The P arish Kens es of worth , Stu dham Whip & snad e BROADBAND INVESTMENT TO BENEFIT WHIPSNADE EXCHANGE A partnership between Central Beds & BT to roll-out Superfast Broadband is set to upgrade the local exchange

KEEPING OUR VILLAGES GREEN & RURAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR VILLAGES IS NECESSARY AND DESIRABLE, BUT SEEING OFF OPPORTUNISTIC DEVELOPERS REQUIRES CONSTANT VIGILANCE Across rural South Bedfordshire there is pressure to develop green fields for housing. We welcome the decision by Studham & Kensworth Parish Councils to develop Neighbourhood Plans for each Parish and we will continue to support them as the plans progress to a point where they go to referendum, before being adopted.

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The plans need to identify what the locality needs over the next 20 years and put in place the right policies which will allow the villages to thrive & flourish while keeping an essentially rural feel. Slip End The battle against opportunistic & unscrupulous developers who regard Planning Law as a start point for negotiation is a major challenge Studham working with the Parish Councils we are constantly battling attempts to build on the Green Belt & extend the villages in unplanned & unwanted ways. One site in Kensworth has had over 20 planning applications & appeals lodged, but we will continue to fight development on the landscape north of Common Road  The green & beautiful villages of South Bedfordshire - we want to ensure that Councillor Kevin Collins said “we work closely with our colour villages thrive, while keeping a leagues on each Parish Council to combat each & every threat strong rural identity as it emerges, we also welcome the emerging Neighbourhood

Plans in both Studham & Kensworth” DO NOT BUY FROM DOOR TO DOOR SALESMEN !

NEWS IN BRIEF... 1

First solar farm in Bedfordshire set to provide green energy this month The County’s first Solar Farm is set to be switched on this month. Built on set aside land at Millfield Farm Caddington, the 5 MW installation will provide up to £17,500 per year to the Parish for 25 years

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Planning Appeal lodged by owner of land to rear of 100 Common Rd, Kensworth Despite a refusal by Central Beds to approve a planning application to convert stables into offices, the owner has decided to appeal

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Works begins on new A5 to M1 link road The long awaited Dunstable Northern Bypass will connect into a new junction 11a on the M1 and provide relief for roads in the area. Congestion will be eased in Dunstable & rat-running in the villages reduced

Promoted & published by Richard Stay & Kevin Collins both of 6c Princes St, Dunstable, LU6 3AX. Printed by Perfect Print, 81 High Street South, Dunstable, LU6 3SF

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If you have a problem or concern call us on 01582 402602

Andrew Selous MP - on being appointed a Government Minister When I was made a Minister on 16 July, so many things changed for me, that it was very reassuring to be able to get back for a meeting of the governors of Studham Lower School that evening. I was pleased to learn that being a Government Minister does not stop me continuing to be a school governor as well.

Andrew Selous visits A5 - M1 link road

I now have responsibility for 120 prisons in England and Wales, the probation service and youth justice. The overall budget for this is £4.3 billion. A number of local residents work at Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes, the Mount prison outside Hemel Hempstead and Aylesbury prison. They are amazing people who perform an incredible public service to keep us all safe. I want to raise the profile of prison officers. I feel that they are quite like social workers, out of mind most of the time and only in the headlines when things go wrong. I was really pleased to see another 39 people find jobs up to the middle of August when claimant count of 1,083 for South West Bedfordshire, a rate of 2%, was announced. Only two years ago it was more than twice that number. I want to pay credit to the many people in Kensworth, Studham and Whipsnade who have been creating jobs in the businesses that they often run with their families. This reduction in unemployment could not have happened without them. I continue to visit local businesses like David Berryman in Kensworth. With diggers on the ground for the bypass north off Dunstable and with Queensbury Academy having been rated a good school by OFSTED I believe prospects will continue to improve for local residents

REPORTING BACK... ■ Studham set to get a village shop back Proposals to build a small number of cottages to the rear of The Bell car park in Studham would, if approved, make provision for a new village shop - something that disappeared from the village many years ago. We support the principle, but look forward to hearing the views of the Parish Council & residents before forming a view on the detailed application

Your Conservative Councillors

■ Central Beds confirms decision to close Streetfield School

Richard Stay

Streetfield is set to close on grounds of financial viability after a steep drop in pupil numbers. We hope this is an opportunity to create an excellent secondary school campus on the site

■ School exam results up in Central Beds Pupils achieving 5 GCSE grade A - C has risen to 56.4% putting the area in 2nd Quartile nationally (71 out of 151 Authorities) Conservative run Central Beds is determined to improve exam results even further & give every pupil the best possible chance in life,

■ New velocity patching machine fills potholes in Central Beds Despite Central having the best quality of secondary roads in the region and one of the best maintained road network in the country, there are still significant numbers of pot holes

01582 402602 [email protected] @StayRC to fill. A new velocity patching machine is speeding up repairs & gets the thumbs up from Caddington Ward Councillors Richard Stay & Kevin Collins on a recent visit to Hyde

■ Studham Village School We believe that Studham provides an essential service to the Parish & support it’s link with Priory Middle School in Dunstable - it is a school with a superb ethos & an education as close to an independent school experience as you will get in the state system. We hope that more catchment children will be able to attend this delightful village school

Kevin Collins 01582 417933 [email protected] @KevMColl

www.caddington-conservatives.com

CARING AND CAMPAIGNING FOR OUR COMMUNITY