News has just come in that the Herts County Council Executive Member with responsibility for highways has asked for an additional urgent item to be added to the agenda of the next Cabinet Meeting on Monday, 23rd April.
Campaigners in Hinckley and Bosworth have welcomed news of a partial success in the campaign to keep threatened wards at the George Eliot Hospital. The Arden Cluster PCT, that had planned the cutbacks has announced that the Maternity Ward is to be kept at George Eliot. There will continue to be some provision for treating Children at the hospital in the daytime, but the children's ward Caterina is due to close. Cllr Michael Mullaney (Liberal Democrat Hinckley Trinity), who helped organise a petition to keep the Hospital wards said "It's good news for many people in Hinckley and Bosworth, North Warwickshire and of course Nuneaton that the Maternity ward is to be kept at the George Eliot. "Many of the mothers who used the ward were from the Hinckley and Bosworth area and it was an important service locally that needed to be kept. "A big thank you to all the local people who signed the petition to keep the wards. We had many hundreds back. It's clear that the strong public support for the George Eliot has helped
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has pledged his support to a campaign to end the unfair practice of charging customers for broadband services 'up to' a certain speed.
With progress continuing apace on the £6 million redevelopment of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum, the new name for the revamped facility was announced recently. The Higgins Bedford is confirmed as its new identity, with the annoouncement coming with a year to go until its opening in Spring 2013. I have been lucky enough to look round the site to see how work is progressing, and it's great to see it starting to take shape.
A SECOND round of funding is now open under the Village SOS scheme.
Less than a month after declaring an official drought, the Environment Agency now says it's over. No sooner was the drought announced than the rains began to fall - last month was the wettest April since records began. The forty days of rainfall has restored many rivers and reservoirs, easing the pressure on the environment.