*******ACT NOW DON’T LEAVE IT TOO LATE*******

There has been a lot of excitement about the first Great Denham parkrun over the last 6 months and it has been eagerly anticipated by people in Great Denham and indeed Bedford.  In the local community a lot of people have been training and talking about this event for ages.  Great Denham is a new village to the West of Bedford and is fortunate in having a very large country park built with the new housing development on one side and the meadows of the River Great Ouse on the other, making it a unique outlook for the parkrunner. 

On this first day 17th February 2018, the weather was typically British with grey clouds at the start but finished with the sun blazing out despite the 3 degree temperature and hard frosty areas covering the park. 

The local area which probably is quite sleepy on a Saturday morning woke up to many runners streaming to the start line.  People gathered around the play park before Toby Chinn, the race director began his briefing.  He talked about making history in small ways, and that all the runners present would be able to share their times and positions with future grandchildren etc etc!  He described the course as a circular double lap route.  Emma Murphy and Sylvia Jones (a prominent member of the running community) were busy taking lots of official photos.  Many other well-known local runners were present from the local clubs. 

The race started with 240 runners just after 9am and surprisingly for a change it didn’t feel like a cattle grid at the start as runners showed a lot of consideration and gave each other space.  The runners started to thin out at the first sharp-left corner.  The first half of the course was on compacted sand which was hard and frosty.  The second half of the course was on pavement tarmac.  It was a good combination for the runner. 

At the finish line, there was a lot of support and cheering from the marshals and the local community which is quite refreshing.  The first runner, Ian Halpin came in at 17:01 which is a fantastic time and excellent benchmark for this first event.  The volunteers were friendly and did a fantastic job in organising the event.  As the runners were leaving they were busily chatting, pleased and excited by the event and course and were making plans for future events. 

With all inaugural parkrun events, it is always difficult to envisage how the morning would unfold and whether there would be any teething problems but with this event I have no hesitation in stating that it was a complete success and a credit to the core team of volunteers. 

The event will now take place every Saturday morning at 9am.  All welcome to come but please register at Parkrun Registration and print a copy of your unique bar code so that it can be scanned at the event to show your run times. 

*******ACT NOW DON’T LEAVE IT TOO LATE*******

On Tuesday 13th February 2018, The Biddenham Women’s Group were asked to object to the new planning application West of Gold Lane.  The event took place at the the Church Barn where Francia Slade and Val Fitzbugh facilitated the signing and collection of the objection letters. 

Again as with other workshops the response was enthusiastic and multiple letters were busily filled in.  A number of people present had already objected via the internet channels to the development which was great.  There were however a good many that hadn’t. 

There is still some distance to go in order to get more signatures in place.  The Parish Council would urge all people who are concerned about the preservation of the village to take immediate action and make their objections count. 

If you do not wish to use the internet to object to the application, copy Template letters are available below:-
(Download and manually fill in your address and name details and send to the Borough Council, note there are two copy letters per single page.  Please only fill in one name per objection)

At the Parish Council meeting held on the 7th February 2018 it was discussed about what we should do to encourage people who are uncomfortable about objecting on the internet or sending a simple letter to the Council.  There are around 2000 resident adults who are eligible to object in the village.  This high number is not reflected in the objections received so far.  There is some concern that we are not tapping into the non-internet community. 

The proposal is the Door Step Challenge 10.  For this we urge people to print copies of the letters below and approach 2 neighbours to the right, left and in front of them.  If 30 willing people can do this then that would equate to 300 signatures.  In the past a number of people have have stated they wish to do more.  The challenge is on as there is an opportunity to make a real practical difference.  The task should take no more than an hour.  If you succeed in the task please comment below:-

The deadlines are fast approaching for Planning application 18/000140/MAO, Friday 16th February 2018.  For Policy 19 & 23 there is a deadline of 5th March 2018.  ACT NOW DON’T LEAVE IT TOO LATE. 

If you manage to get a bundle of completed letters together, can you please forward to the following receiving houses, the letters will be batched and sent to the Borough Council directly:-

Hints and tips
Be nice to your neighbours
Explain fully what the letters and objection is about
Check that both the name and address is completed properly and that it is legible
Make sure they complete the letters at the door and hand them back to you. 
Friends and relatives outside the village can complete the letters
Ensure that a Mr & Mrs application is completed separately
Adults 18 and over living in the same household can sign the letters

On Thursday 8th February 2018, parents of Biddenham toddlers Club were asked to object to the new planning application West of Gold Lane.  The event took place at the village hall where Joe Warren handed out simple objection letters for the proposal.  There was a a lot of concern about the housing development and infrastructure supporting it with some people still unaware of it! 

Again as with other workshops the response was enthusiastic and multiple letters were busily filled in.  All present at the event objected to the proposals.  The final counts were:-

There is still some distance to go in order to get more signatures in place.  The Parish Council would urge all people who are concerned about the preservation of the village to take immediate action and make their objections count. 

If you do not wish to use the internet to object to the application, copy Template letters are available below:-
(Download and manually fill in your address and name details and send to the Borough Council, note there are two copy letters per single page.  Please only fill in one name per objection)

Network rail will be carrying out their phase 2 major work on Ford End Road bridge from 16 February until August 2018.  The Ford End road bridge will be closed to road traffic during this period.  A vehicle diversion will operate via Hurst Grove and Bromham Road (A4280).  Bromham Road will be very busy during this period. 

For the month of January 2018, please find below an Excel file containing crime stats from Bedfordshire Police.  As usual they have been sanitised so that people or houses cannot be identified etc.  The database that is used does not record ASB’s (Anti – Social Behaviour)

On Friday 2 February 2018, the First Friday Lunch Club turned out in force to object to the new planning application West of Gold Lane.  The event took place at the village hall where Joe Warren and Jon Gambold handed out simple objection letters for the proposal.  There was an open forum to discuss the various objections and policy applications around the development. 

The response was enthusiastic and multiple letters were busily filled in.  The final count was:-

The event was a very successful lunch hour in galvanising the support of the village,

There is still some distance to go in order to get more signatures in place.  The Parish Council would urge all people who are concerned about the preservation of the village to take immediate action and make their objections count. 

The next opportunity to fill out the various hard copy objections letters with help, will be at the Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday 7th February 2018, prior to the start of the meeting. 

If you do not wish to use the internet to object to the application, copy Template letters are available below:-
(Download and manually fill in your address and name details and send to the Borough Council, note there are two copy letters per single page.  Please only fill in one name per objection)