Archived News
December 2012
Flood Alerts - Are You Prepared
As rain is expected to continue to fall over the next few days the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum members will be out and about to ensure you are kept up to date with any flooding news in your area.
Several flood alerts have been put into place within the county by the Environment Agency which includes the Great Ouse at Newport Pagnell to Turvey in Buckinghamshire and from Sharnbrook through Bedford to Wyboston.
Surface water is the biggest problem at the moment and Bedfordshire Police together with the Highways Agency are warning motorists to take extra care as they make their journeys throughout the weekend and over the festive period.
Motorists are also advised to keep an eye on weather forecasts and be prepared to change their journey plans if necessary. As the wet weather subsides motorist should also be extra vigilant as temperatures drop and possible black ice forms on road surfaces.
Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Richer, who is leading the Resilience Forum response, said: "A meeting of the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum, including emergency services and local authorities, was held today (Dec 21) to make sure all preparations for monitoring the water levels and warning the public are in place.
"All agencies are ensuring that they have enough resources available to deal with any flooding over the holiday period when traditionally most staff are on leave. With further heavy rain expected on Saturday and again at the beginning of next week be assured all members of the forum will continue to work closely together to monitor the situation regularly through the festive period."
He added: "The people of Bedfordshire are no strangers to the threat of flooding but now is the time when residents living in the areas that have previously flooded should take some precautionary measures by visiting the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum website where they can keep up to date with the latest advice and also access the Environment Agency website for further advice and news."
For further information householders can call the Floodline on 0845 9881188 which gives the latest state of flood alerts, and for advice on what preparations to make can visit the resilience forum website www.bllrf.org.uk.
Parish Council Minutes - December 2012
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting: Monday 3rd December 2012
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Monday 7th January 2013, from 7.30pm, in the Coffee Tavern.
Chilterns Conservation Board - Vacancy for Administration Officer (maternity cover)
Administration Officer (maternity cover)
7 month contract
£16,803 - £18,924 pro rata 30 hours pw
Based in Chinnor, Oxon.
The Chilterns Conservation Board is looking for someone to provide temporary maternity cover for its Administration Officer post. This is a varied and busy position at the heart of the Conservation Board, which is the public body with the responsibility for conserving and promoting the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Administration Officer is responsible for day-to-day financial management including payment of invoices and operating the monthly payroll. Knowledge of Sage Accounting software is essential. The Officer also plays a central role in the day-to-day running of the Board's office (staff team of 10) including looking after office equipment, answering the main phone, ordering stationery, collating and sending out papers for meetings and providing other administrative support.
Good computer literacy is essential, including knowledge of Sage, Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint. Good communication skills are also essential as are accuracy and attention to detail.
This is a great opportunity to play a central role in a small and friendly team working to conserve and promote the beautiful Chilterns countryside.
For more information and an application form visit www.chilternsaonb.org/vacancies or call the Chilterns Conservation Board on 01844 355500.
Closing date for applications: 16th January 2013
Interviews will be held on 23rd January 2013
Starting date: around late February 2013
Approval for new football pitch
Eaton Bray Lions youth football club has been allowed to fence off part of the village green for an all-weather floodlit soccer pitch.
The club, which has nearly 300 players, will be moving to The Rye following approval by Central Beds Council's development management committee.
The approval is subject to an agreement that demands that the facility is made available for community use and that formal organised events on the site be controlled by the parish council while the pitch is in use to limit parking problems.
Eaton Bray Academy to benefit from New Recycling Scheme
Eaton Bray is one of the first locations to join a brand new nationwide recycling scheme set up by Kenco and TerraCycle called the Coffee Packaging Brigade, aiming to save coffee packaging waste from landfill.
A collection box for all brands of coffee packaging waste is situated at the Nisa Local on the High Street with funds being donated to Eaton Bray Academy for each unit of coffee packaging waste collected.
The majority of coffee packaging waste unfortunately ends up in landfill as local councils simply don't have the infrastructure to recycle mixed plastics. The waste however is recyclable, prompting Kenco to partner with TerraCycle to set up the Coffee Packaging Brigade with an initial 100 location spaces available across the UK.
The aim is to enable communities to come together to save as much coffee packaging waste from local landfill, whilst raising money for good causes. The coffee packaging waste will be recycled into generic plastic products such as park benches, watering cans and waste bins.
TerraCycle and Kenco appealed for people across the UK to find suitable locations in their communities that were willing to house a collection box and apply for a space.
Villager Anne Johnson arranged for a box to be located in Eaton Bray. Locals are now able to drop their waste coffee refill bags, coffee bean bags, single serving coffee sachets and coffee jar lids off to the collection box located outside the store 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mrs Johnson said: "It is great that Nisa Local have housed a collection box at their store to enable us to be one of the first communities in the UK to be able to recycle their coffee packaging waste. Two TerraCycle points are earned for the weight of each coffee packaging unit that is returned, with each point being redeemable for a one pence contribution.
"All the money raised will go to Eaton Bray Academy for the school's allotment project where children help to grow fruit and vegetables that are used in the school kitchen so we encourage local people to drop off all their coffee packaging waste and tell all their friends and family to do the same. The aim is to not only save as much coffee packaging waste from landfill as possible but also to raise as much as possible for the school."
Christmas Puzzle 2012 - Dedicated to Lynne Truss
This year's annual Charity Christmas Puzzle has now been posted, and is available to download.
This, the 22nd annual Puzzle that Gordon Gray has set, has a theme designed to help completion and will appeal to people who enjoy doing Crossword puzzles, such as in the Daily Telegraph (though it is not a Crossword puzzle). Puzzlers have plenty of time to find the answers and Puzzles should be returned, with donation, by 27 January 2013.
Gordon posted Puzzles on 5 December, so those already on the distribution list should receive their copies in the next few days. Anyone else who would like a copy of the Puzzle can access it from the web at www.christmaspuzzle.co.uk. Alternatively puzzles can be collected from St Mary's Eaton Bray.
All the money you donate, except for the prize-money, will go to charity.
Security of vehicles during cold weather
Thames Valley Police is urging local residents to be vigilant with the security of their vehicles, especially on winter mornings.
During recent cold weather conditions two vehicles have been stolen from Brill on 30 November and Chilton on 1 December. Owners had left the vehicles running to defrost the windscreens and warm the cars up but thieves took advantage and stole the insecure cars.
Motorists are advised to never leave a car unattended in these circumstances. If a vehicle is stolen in this way it is unlikely that your insurance company will pay for the loss of the vehicle.
Visit www.thamesvalley.police.uk for further crime reduction information and advice on vehicle security or call on the 24 hour Police Enquiry Centre 101