Bedford Borough Council is calling on schools and pupils in the area to take part in Walk to School Week from 17th - 21st May 2021.

Walk to school week, organised by Living Streets, encourages families to walk, cycle or scoot to school for the whole week so that they can see the big difference that small steps can make.

BLMK CCG, Bedford Hospital and Bedford Borough Council secured a limited supply of Coronavirus Pfizer vaccines that would otherwise go to waste. The vaccine has been used to help control the rising rate of infection in Bedford Borough.

With a number of cases reported recently among students of in some educational settings in the Borough, a limited number of vaccination appointments were offered to staff, parents and carers aged 30-39 years old.

Anyone aged 40 and over can walk into a number of vaccination centres across Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes this week without the need for an appointment - making it even easier to get protected against Coronavirus.

Drop-in sessions are being offered at large vaccination centres to make the most of available vaccine supplies. Until Sunday 23 May, people who have yet to book their vaccine can turn up at a number of sites in our region during opening hours to receive their first dose.

Bedford Borough Council is calling for vaccines to be made available for over 16s in the Borough as cases of Coronavirus rise rapidly including the appearance of a variant of concern.

The Council has been notified of a number of cases of a Coronavirus Variant of Concern (first identified in India) with mounting evidence that this variant is spreading rapidly in the borough.

Following the Prime Minister's briefing this week (Monday 10 May) some of the rules on what we can and can't do will be changing from Monday 17 May.

With rates increasing rapidly in Bedford Borough, the Council is asking residents to exercise caution and common sense.

Bedford Borough Council has been notified of cases of a COVID-19 Variant of Concern (first identified in India). Working with Public Health England and the DHSC, the Council, as a precautionary measure, arranged additional testing of close contacts to be carried out. This additional testing will identify any further COVID-19 positive cases, ensure people know to self-isolate and help slow the spread.

Bedford Borough Council is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is Nature.

Research on the mental health impacts of the pandemic showed going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45% of us reported being in green spaces had been a vital for our mental health.

At Monday's Climate Change Workshop we heard some of the successes of the Climate Change Fund. These successes have included paying for solar panels, replacement of doors, improved LED lighting and air conditioning.

The Climate Change Fund helps to reduce the carbon emissions of the Borough by match-funded energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations on community building and supporting projects that will considerably reduce a building's carbon emissions as well as the running costs of that building.

A report looking at options around the East West Rail route north of Bedford Midland has shown that the service could run effectively using just the existing four lines, and avoid the need to demolish any homes in the Poets area.

Bedford Borough Council commissioned SLC Rail, specialists in rail projects, to conduct a technical review of this section of the route in response to the East West Rail Company's current consultation proposing six tracks to run north of the station. This would require over 50 homes to be compulsorily purchased and potentially demolished, nearly 50 more to lose some of their land or gardens and another rebuilding of the Bromham Road Bridge causing further disruption to local residents on this busy route into the town.

This report shows that East West Rail trains could run on the existing lines, as in a standard hour of train services there is still 28 minutes - nearly half of the time - where the line is free and an East West Rail service could run. It also shows that this free time could be extended to 40 minutes in the hour with some relatively minor changes to the track layout within its existing boundaries.

This report concludes that with efficient timetabling and some track layout adjustments it is possible to bring the East West Rail service through Bedford Midland without the need to demolish homes. This would also be a cheaper option than the proposed six tracks.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "This report confirms what we have said all along - that there is no need for extra lines on the section of track north of Bedford station to Fairhill. The rail experts producing this report for the Council have demonstrated that with a few relatively minor adjustments to the track layout there is ample capacity for East West Rail trains to and from Cambridge, without the need for the government to compulsorily purchase homes in the Poets area. We can also see that Network Rail came to this same conclusion in a report they have recently released. We will now continue to push the East West Railway Company to adopt this revised approach, so that our community can benefit from this once in a generation investment that will bring jobs and businesses to Bedford Borough without the loss of homes in the Poets area."