Have your say on getting out in the countryside - Biggleswade Library on the 23 November 2012

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

Plans to help people explore, understand and get involved with the local countryside are underway with a new Outdoor Access Improvement Plan from Central Bedfordshire Council.

 

Central Bedfordshire has a wonderfully diverse natural landscape, which the Council has a critical role in managing access to; both through the rights of way network and a number of Council owned heritage and countryside sites.

 

The Council also has a statutory duty to review their outdoor access provision and make plans for the future. So with its last Outdoor Access Improvement Plan now complete, the Council is asking the community to comment on exciting, new plans that will last until 2023.

 

The Council wants to take this opportunity to emphasise how much of a green and pleasant place to live and work Central Bedfordshire is.

 

People are being asked to view exhibitions and have their say on plans from Monday, 22 October until Friday, 18 January 2013. They can view consultation documents online at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations during this time as well as visiting exhibitions where paper copies of the questionnaires will be available.

 

The Council's Countryside Access Team will be on hand to talk about the proposals at:

 

o Biggleswade Library on the 23 November (10am - 4pm)

 

o Flitwick Library on the 6 December (10am - 4pm)

 

o Leighton Buzzard library on the 9 January (10am - 4pm)

 

Cllr Ian Dalgarno, Deputy Executive Member for Sustainable Communities (Services) at the Council, said: "We believe our plans show what great progress we can continue to make to improve outdoor access for our residents. We know that being outside and enjoying the countryside can have all sorts of positive effects, from improved health to forging strong community links. "

 

"This consultation will give the public the chance to shape our plans for the next ten years and their comments will be really important to the final proposals so I am strongly encouraging people to look at the consultation, visit the exhibitions and to give us their views."

 

This new Plan will act as the cornerstone strategy for countryside and outdoor access management for Central Bedfordshire. It is part of a suite of strategies and plans which will plan, deliver and manage countryside access and greenspace in the area.