Bedford council awards £11k grant to environmental campaigners

A flotilla of mallard ducklings follows its mother (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Bedford Borough Council has awarded an £11,000 grant to BedsGOVET to help it to monitor a river’s water quality.

On Wednesday (April 24) the council’s Rural Affairs Committee was asked to approve a grant towards the cost of buying two monitors.

Lee Phanco, the council’s interim monitoring officer, said the application from Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust (BedsGOVET) was supported by Sharnbrook Parish Council.

“It’s a request for £11,024 towards the purchase of two Sondes monitors which will be used to measure water quality in the River Great Ouse, and the cost of mooring them,” he said.

These monitors enable the testing of the temperature, oxygen levels, and ‘cloudiness’ (turbidity) of water giving the users information on its quality.

“It’s a request for 50 per cent of the total cost, [the grant] will effectively provide one of these monitors.

“The data that’s collected will be shared with the Environment Agency and with the council, with the intention of being able to identify any pollution, particularly E. coli, in the river.

“And then assist the Environment Agency with identifying the source and being able to take actions to improve the overall water quality,” he said.

The deputy mayor, councillor Jim Weir (Conservative, Great Denham) said: “I think they’ve actually raised quite a bit of funding from ward councillor funds right across the borough.

“So, I think there’s a general acceptance that this is a good move and a good thing to have working within our borough,” he said.

The grant was approved.

The committee also approved grants to resurface the playground at Bletsoe Village Hall (£2,145), £10,000 towards the cost of the installation of a disabled toilet and food servery area in All Saints Church, Milton Ernest, and £12,500 towards the purchase of land in Odell.

Mr Phanco told the Committee: “We only release funding once we have confirmation that the organisation has got the funding it needs to complete their project.”