The 'Access for All' scheme to improve the accessibility of the UK's train stations was introduced in 2006. To date, it has enabled around 200 stations to become step-free as well as providing other smaller-scale improvements to many more stations. Funding for the rail network is broken down into Control Periods and every five years … Continue reading Access for All – mind the equality gap
The weight of history weighs heavily on the situation in the Middle East. The actions taken by Hamas during their attack on Israel on 7th October were abhorrent. My thoughts are with both the Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones. There is no valid justification for the killing of innocent civilians or … Continue reading A statement on the Israel – Gaza war
Following my research into how funding received from housing developers is spent in our communities, I posted The secret world of S106 funding blog on my social media. Of course, while social media can be a useful tool, it is no substitute for actually getting in touch with the decision makers directly. As the planning … Continue reading S106 Funding – an open letter to Central Beds Council
One of the most frequent issues that came up on the doorstep while campaigning during the Mid Bedfordshire by-election was the number of housing developments lacking associated infrastructure. Having walked around numerous housing estates over the last few months it seems that developers are permitted to lazily lob in a generic play area and completely … Continue reading The secret world of S106 funding
Rishi Sunak believes that a General Election is "not what anyone wants". After the Tories' disastrous Conference in Manchester, he is in a vanishingly small minority. For Sunak to stand behind a lectern in Manchester emblazoned with the slogan "long-term decisions for a brighter future" while announcing the shelving of the HS2 route to Manchester, … Continue reading Sunak comes off the rails in Manchester
Due to the threat of legal action by disability activists and a number of metro mayors, the 21-day consultation window on the Rail Delivery Group's (RDG) proposals to close almost 1,000 ticket offices across the rail network has been extended to 1st September. As of around a week ago, some 170,000 responses to the consultation … Continue reading Ticket Office Closures Q&As
This summer has seen extreme temperatures across the globe, with the UK having the warmest June ever recorded (smashing the previous record by 0.9ºC) and extreme heat across the US, China and Europe, with the ongoing heatwave providing a nightmare vision of the future and wildfires resulting in the evacuation of thousands of UK holidaymaker … Continue reading What lies ahead if we fail on net zero
On the 5th of July, the Rail Delivery Group announced a 21-day consultation exercise regarding their proposals to close just short of 1,000 ticket offices across the country. In their rush to push these proposals through, it seems they did not have time to discuss their proposals with either the Office of Road and Rail … Continue reading Ticket Office closures – the truth behind the spin
Earlier today the Bedfordshire Rail Access Network (BRAN) team met with Network Rail, Richard Fuller MP, town and district Councillors and Govia Thameslink Railway to discuss the latest on the step-free project and the transport hub. The previous meeting took place on 3rd February and you can read a summary of that meeting here: https://julianvaughan.blog/2023/02/05/step-free-project-hits-the-buffers/ … Continue reading Biggleswade Station Update – 15th May
While I’m obviously disappointed not to have been elected, I’m delighted for my five Labour colleagues who are now Central Bedfordshire Councillors. After years of Tory domination, the council has moved to 'No Overall Control' and we have two Labour Councillors (Stotfold and Arlesey and Fairfield) in what will be the new Parliamentary constituency of … Continue reading Local Election Results
Julian Vaughan 