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9 November 2026
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Environment

High Street and Manton Lane water leak. Images: Jo Casey and Bedford Independent.

Letters: The reality of repairing a water leak

Constantly, there are reports of water leaks being “allowed” to run for far too long and not being repaired promptly. There is the comparison with drought, and recently, the conflict...
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The Black Tom Litter Picking Team Image Melissa Peacock

Black Tom community unites for Saturday morning street clean-up

Neighbours of all ages in Bedford’s Black Tom area grabbed brooms and litter pickers to clean up their streets, collecting 12 bags of rubbish fuelled by bacon rolls from the local pub...
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A hose on shower setting watering a garden

Letters: Can Anglian Water actually provide water as Bedfordshire grows?

I wish to express my concerns about Anglian Water's ability to deliver water to North and Central Bedfordshire, even with likely investment and planning. Anglian Water even now says...
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Wildlife like the Bearded Reedling, commonly known as a Bearded Tit, which uses Quest Pit as a breeding site may be under threat by the planned data centre. Image: Frank Fichtmueller/Shutterstock.

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...
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Letter from Mohammad Yasin MP (Labour) to Mark Thurston CEO Anglia Water, demanding answers about leaks across Bedford Borough, 10 September 2026. Image: The office of Mohammad Yasin MP.

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...
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A planter on Stanley Street that had "hollyhocks cut down and removed before they could self seed". Image: Teresa Walshe.

“We made a mistake”: council promises to replant shrubs after Black Tom planter damage

Bedford Borough Council has admitted that its maintenance team made a mistake while tidying up planters in the Black Tom area of the town, and that they shouldn't have been strimmed...
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A Bedfordshire firefighter surrounded by smoke tackles a wildfire in an open field Image BFRS

Senior Bedfordshire firefighter issues wildfire warning as hot, dry conditions continue

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has issued an urgent public warning after a deliberate grass fire damaged football pitches in Jubilee Park, as dry weather increases the risk of open fires...
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HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Susan Lousada enjoying a ride on the pedal-powered smoothie bike as schoolchildren attending the event look on. Image: BAEF

From bees to bikes, pupils discover how Bedfordshire farming feeds the country

More than 470 school children from 14 schools across the county gathered at Shuttleworth House for the inaugural Bedfordshire Food, Farming & Sustainability Schools’ Day...
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A purple textile and clothing recycling bank in a council car park in Bedford

Increased operating costs and fly-tipping signal removal of textile recycling banks in Bedford

Bedford Borough Council has announced it will be removing five textile recycling banks in response to changes in the sector and challenges to keep sites clean and well-managed...
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Robert Lindsay as 'Wolfie' Smith in the TV Show Citizen Smith. Wolfie is in front of Tooting Underground Station holding his fist in the air in a revolutionary stance, he has a 'Che Guevara' beret on and a cigarette in his mouth. Image: BBC/Fair Use

Bedford Ian writes…

12 June 2026: Citizen Smith, Transport transparency, Italian Enough? and Tree-mendous. Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
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