9 November 2026

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Environment

All the latest environment news from across Bedford Borough. Everything you need to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Bedford Borough on your mobile or desktop via the Bedford Independent.

The Bedford Independent was founded to provide the people of Bedford Borough with a modern news desk that would give them easy access to genuine and unbiased Bedford news. We are independent in ownership and opinion.

Our mission is to inform and inspire the people of Bedford. To do this we will work hard to bring them the news that matters to them from our town centre to the most rural of the Borough’s villages.

Our editorial team are NCTJ trained and follows a standards code set out by the independent press regulator IMPRESS Standards.

Anglian Water says Manton Lane leak (finally) being fixed today

Work to fix he long-running leak that has deluged Manton Lane for, officially, several weeks is due to begin today (Tuesday). The leak is just one of many that Bedfordians have...

Council installs 260 public EV chargers for Bedford homes without driveways

Bedfordians without driveways or off-street parking can now switch to electric vehicles with confidence as the council rolls out 260 new charging sockets across the borough...

Bedfordians must register vehicles online before visiting Barkers Lane tip

Say goodbye to the 10-day permit wait. Bedfordians can now instantly register their vehicles online for trips to the Barkers Lane tip before new ANPR cameras go live on 1 October...

Jubilee Park training programme offers Bedfordians a pathway into employment

Adults looking to progress into training or work can join a free eight-week course at Jubilee Park, combining environmental conservation with mental health support and employability skills...

Bedfordshire faces severe butterfly population crash despite sunny 2026 summer

Despite record sightings across Bedfordshire during summer 2026, experts warn extreme drought has set the stage for a severe butterfly population crash across the county...

Ravensden family farm hit by 30% yield drop after extreme summer

A Ravensden wheat farmer whose family has worked the land for 50 years is combining generational knowledge with modern science after a dry summer slashed her harvest by 30%...

Government demands strict Elstow Brook pollution monitoring for Universal theme park

Ministers have issued strict environmental conditions for the £6bn Universal Studios project at Kempston Hardwick, demanding regular pollution monitoring of Elstow Brook and protection for wildlife...

Monthly column: To nationalise or not, that is the question…

Every day there seems to be a harrowing report in the national and regional papers about the awful state of our rivers and seas, so much so that you wonder why the Government...

Fears for local wildlife as £9.5bn Stewartby data centre bypasses local council control

Central Bedfordshire Council has been stripped of its final decision-making power over a £9.5bn Stewartby data centre proposed for Quest Pit. The government will now decide...

MP demands answers from Anglian Water over persistent water leaks across Bedford Borough

Bedford and Kempston MP Mohammad Yasin has written to Anglian Water after a persistent leak in Kempston was reported to be losing 540 litres of drinking water an hour...