Bedford Borough Council is carrying out utility investigations ahead of refurbishment works to the Oakley twin bridges. These road bridges travel over the River Great Ouse between the villages of Oakley and Bromham.

The investigations will involve trenching and will require a road closure, as the roads across the river are narrow so there isn't the space to have a lane open while these works are ongoing. To reduce the effect on schools, businesses and residents, the closure will take place during half term from 8am to 6pm on both the 29 and 30 October. The associated diversion route will be signposted.

Bedford Borough Council has carried out several traffic light upgrade projects through the Transporting Bedford project including at the junctions of London Road / Elstow Road, Newnham Avenue / Goldington Road, and Bromham Road / Newnham Street.

All of these upgrades have seen equipment and software put in place to improve the detection and control of traffic, to help traffic flow better at these well-known congested junctions.

This evening, Bedford Borough Council Executive is set to discuss the £26.4million funding gap faced by the Council, and the proposals to meet this financial challenge.

Due to the impact of coronavirus, the Council has to manage the vast majority of this gap- £21.8million- in next year's Budget, which will be set in the coming months.

Halloween is almost upon us and with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and Mayor Dave Hodgson is urging everyone to celebrate safely.

Coronavirus doesn't mean the end to fun, we just need to think of different ways to celebrate Halloween and other events. Suggestions include:

• Have a Halloween movie night in
• Decorate your home for Halloween
• Have an indoor Trick and Treat hunt, or in your garden if you have one
• Pumpkin carving - you can share these on social media using the hashtag #SpookyBedford
• Have a virtual Halloween costume contest with friends and family
• Bake some Halloween treats

Join Kevin the Platypus this half term for five fun trails inspired by the weird and wonderful objects at The Higgins Bedford.

Each trail contains an I-Spy activity alongside fun facts and craft sheets based on a theme, including toys and games, creepy crawlies, hats and Halloween. The Halloween trail will be available throughout half term week and four more trails will be released each day from Tuesday 27th to Friday 30th October.

Children going hungry is, sadly, not a new problem, but remains an unacceptable feature of our society. The Government has failed to provide support for children on school meals this half-term, despite the opportunity to do so and in the face of nationwide pressure led by footballer Marcus Rashford.

The latest weekly coronavirus statistics for Bedford Borough have been published. Presented once again in easy-to-read infographic form, the figures show that in the seven days up to October 18th:

• 1,597 people have been tested (111 fewer than the previous week)
• There were 149 Covid-19 cases (16 more than the previous week)
• The weekly positive cases per 100,000 population was 86.0 (up from 76.7 in the previous week)

Last weekend saw the first COVID-19 marshals take to the streets in Bedford town centre, providing advice and information about how to stay safe and slow the spread of coronavirus locally.

Funding has been provided by the Government to support and encourage the public and businesses to follow coronavirus measures to keep themselves and our communities safe.