It is about choices.
I was delighted that the Liberal Democrats, alongside other opposition councillors, successfully stopped the Council from spending millions on a Conservative proposal to make a bridge just a bit taller to let bigger boats get under it.
And all of this to get to a new canal that hasn’t been built yet.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a lovely project, but when a Council is going bankrupt (not my words, but the words of independent financial inspectors), you can’t waste money like this when you are proposing new charges for the most vulnerable in our society.
When spending is tight, the choices you make become even more important.
This bridge wasn’t broken – in fact, it was refurbished to a high standard in 2022.
Read: Council confirms Queens Bridge must be replaced after unsafe timber discovered
So we were horrified to see that a proposed spend of over £2m was put forward by the Conservative-led Executive only last Wednesday, and delighted to see this dropped.
And residents certainly couldn’t put up with yet another one closing.
Queens Bridge
So I was doubly glad to have been able to throw our full support behind the hundreds of petitioners who want to see Queens Bridge (connecting Kempston with Queens Park) reopened as a matter of urgency.
At the moment, the bridge is dangerous and cannot be used.
But this leaves a lengthy detour for children, people accessing the hospital, as well as commuters and everyone else trying to get to and from Kempston and Queen’s Park.
As the nights draw in, cold weather and icy conditions arrive, and it is even more urgent that this is repaired.
This must be a priority. And this is the sort of thing Councils are actually there for.
So we had no hesitation in voting in support of the replacement as well as pushing for more urgency, for transport support for school children, and for temporary bridge options to be fully considered.
This is all about choices.
Council Tax Reduction Scheme
Because at the very same Full Council meeting on Wednesday last week, Liberal Democrats, joined by Councillors from other parties, successfully blocked the Conservatives’ harsh new proposals for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in Bedford Borough.
Read: Emotional debate sees councillors reject plans to overhaul Council Tax Reduction Scheme
This would have seen the most vulnerable, if they lived in a Band B household for example, face a tax rise of £365.70.
That’s a lot of money for households on the lowest incomes.
And with thousands of families accessing food banks this Christmas and many people choosing between heating and eating, it was crucial to protect the existing scheme.
Rather than cutting wasteful spending, such as the £450,000 a year it’s costing for the largely empty Debenhams building, they have chosen to target people least able to afford it to balance the council’s books.
Read: Failed lease of former pub leads to hefty bill for Bedford Borough taxpayers
I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues chose to protect the current scheme. The Conservatives were making the wrong choice, morally and economically, for Bedford Borough residents.
This is a monthly guest column provided by Cllr Henry Vann,
leader of the Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group.
It is published unedited and does not reflect the
views of the Bedford Independent.
