Dunstable ~ The Next Chapter
A new short film showcasing the impact of ongoing improvements and plans to regenerate Dunstable has been released by Central Bedfordshire Council in a bid to engage local residents, businesses and investors in the vision for the town.
‘Dunstable – The Next Chapter’ features interviews with local residents, businesses and organisations and highlights progress on projects to enhance the town’s tran...sport and roads, shopping and leisure facilities as well as boosting job opportunities and housing.
Cllr Nigel Young, Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, who also features in the film said: “Over the last two years we’ve delivered real improvements to Dunstable in terms of boosting transport links and employment, breathing new life into the town’s leisure and social facilities and starting to restore its character as a traditional market town.
“We felt it was time to show just how much we’ve achieved as well as reminding residents that there’s a lot more to come. The next two years will bring many of our long term plans to fruition and the film shows how our vision to make Dunstable a destination of choice for people thinking of setting up a home or business is becoming a reality.
“There’s a growing optimism and confidence about Dunstable and I really hope that the film will add to that buzz. But, perhaps more importantly, I hope that highlighting these opportunities will show our residents that there’s a real prospect of regenerating our town and building on the successes of the last couple of years.”
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Plenty to be excited about
Projects highlighted in the film include:
‘Dunstable – The Next Chapter’ features interviews with local residents, businesses and organisations and highlights progress on projects to enhance the town’s tran...sport and roads, shopping and leisure facilities as well as boosting job opportunities and housing.
Cllr Nigel Young, Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, who also features in the film said: “Over the last two years we’ve delivered real improvements to Dunstable in terms of boosting transport links and employment, breathing new life into the town’s leisure and social facilities and starting to restore its character as a traditional market town.
“We felt it was time to show just how much we’ve achieved as well as reminding residents that there’s a lot more to come. The next two years will bring many of our long term plans to fruition and the film shows how our vision to make Dunstable a destination of choice for people thinking of setting up a home or business is becoming a reality.
“There’s a growing optimism and confidence about Dunstable and I really hope that the film will add to that buzz. But, perhaps more importantly, I hope that highlighting these opportunities will show our residents that there’s a real prospect of regenerating our town and building on the successes of the last couple of years.”
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Plenty to be excited about
Projects highlighted in the film include:
Fast, efficient public transport links to and from London and Luton airport through the Luton-Dunstable Busway - increasing the town's business appeal and making it much easier for Dunstable and Houghton Regis residents to travel to London and the wider South East
The creation of two new roads - the A5/M1 and Woodside Links - that will bypass the town centre and provide traffic, particularly heavy goods vehicles, with faster links to the motorway network. When completed in 2017 this will make it possible to de-trunk the A5, ban HGV’s and significantly reduce congestion on the High Street.
The building of the first of two huge new distribution centres by Prologis UK (top right), a major industrial land developer, which was officially opened last week and is set to create around 550 new jobs.
The Incuba Centre promoting green technology, innovation and nurturing businesses.
The £15m partial redevelopment and refurbishment of Central Bedfordshire College.
The development of Grove Park including BBC Three Counties’ move to a new state-of-the-art studio and the new HQ sports bar.
The multi-million pound refurbishment of Dunstable Leisure Centre starting in 2015.
Improvements to shopping areas including the White Lion Retail Park.
The building of Priory View, a new high quality housing development for older people which will is set to open in autumn 2015.
The building of a new high quality skate park which will attract board riders from across the UK.
The latest film follows on from the 2012 film ‘Dunstable – A New Beginning’ which first detailed plans to revive the town.
To watch ‘Dunstable – The next chapter’ go to www.youtube.com/
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Matched funding available for local transport schemes
Town and parish councils can now apply for matched funding to the tune of £50,000 per scheme for local transport schemes from Central Bedfordshire Council.
The council is inviting town and parish councils to bid for match funding as part of the Local Transport Plan Rural Area Matched Fund, which is available to all town and parish councils in Central Bedfordshire.
The fund is designed to help provide small scale walking or cycling initiatives, public transport improvements, information provision and signage or other traffic management measures.
Cllr Nigel Young, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities, Strategic Planning and Economic Development, said: “We’re not prescriptive about what schemes local councils can bid for because we want the emphasis to be on what the local community feels will benefit them. The Match Funding pot is about enabling communities – especially rural ones – to have greater ownership and involvement in the transport provision in their area.”
“The closing date for applications is 1 August, so we would encourage town and parish councils to start thinking about what schemes they could bid for. All the guidelines are on our website.”
A total of £375,000 is being made available during 2014/15 to match fund schemes. This is the maximum for which town and parish councils can bid for, but all are encouraged to limit their applications to a maximum of £50,000 per scheme.
The Local Transport Plan (LTP) sets out a long term plan for investment in transport, taking a strategic approach to deal with key transport issues. This long term approach is supported by a series of Local Area Transport Plans (LATPs) which are produced in partnership with local communities to apply the strategy at a local level.
Applications must be received by 1 August 2013. Guidelines and application forms can be found at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/travelling/your-travel-choices/transport-strategy
ENDS
For further information please contact: Anna Copperwheat, Media Officer on 0300 300 4671
Central Bedfordshire Council PR 1476 19/04/2013 [For Immediate Release]