Leigh’s Home Cooking: Homemade Lemonade with the Kids
The real thing, made in the kitchen with sticky fingers and a fair bit of giggling. About ten minutes of effort and you get two litres of something that tastes like summer.
By Leigh
Community News
Local news & updates
Everything happening across Shortstown, Cardington, Cople & Cotton End.
Shortstown Post Office to close on 9 August: what it means for residents, and the fight to keep a service in the village
Shortstown is set to lose its Post Office. The branch inside the Morrisons Daily store on North Drive will close on Sunday 9 August 2026, after Morrisons confirmed it is shutting the store and taking the Post Office counter down with it. It is the latest blow to a fast-growing community that has already seen
By Leigh
Have your say: 20mph zone and parking restrictions proposed for Shortstown’s new streets
Residents of Shortstown are being invited to have their say on two new traffic proposals for the streets being built as part of Bellway Homes’ Cardington Hangars development. Bedford Borough Council is proposing a 20mph speed limit zone and a restricted parking zone covering Mason Road and the surrounding residential streets. Both schemes are required
By Leigh
The Shorts Building comes home: historic landmark secured for the people of Shortstown
After more than a century in government and private hands, the building that gave our village its name now belongs to the people of Shortstown. By Leigh Coombs Some stories are a privilege to write, and this is one of them. Shortstown Parish Council has completed the purchase of the Shorts Building, the historic landmark
By Leigh
BedX launches in Bedford — and businesses across our ward are right in the middle of the opportunity
More than 400 local businesses packed King’s House for the launch of BedX — the Bedfordshire Opportunity Exchange. Cllr Leigh Coombs reports on what it means for businesses across our ward — Shortstown, Cardington, Cople and Cotton End — and the wider Bedford Borough.
By Leigh
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Community Network
Let me describe and idea for you. I’ll start with a question or two. In what kind of community do we want to live? Is it a community where we live in isolation, disconnected from our neighbours, commuting in and out of the neighbourhood for work, leisure and meaningful relationships? I believe most of us
By Community Network
Dads Mental Health Social – 6th May, Bedford
The Nomad Dads Society C.I.C. is hosting a free Dads Mental Health Social — an evening for dads, about dads, for dads. 📅 Date: Tuesday 6th May 2025 🕕 Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm 📍 Venue: Provident House, 44 Harpur Street, Bedford, MK40 2QT This is a chance for dads in Bedford to find out what
By Leigh
Your Local Bus Services Are Changing: What You Need to Know
From 31 May 2026, Stagecoach will make significant changes to bus routes serving Shortstown, Cotton End, Cardington and Cople — including the removal of Newton Street and Potter Meadows stops from Service 3, but with new school-time services secured for Bedford Academy students.
By Leigh
Howards House Planning Application Faces Major Hurdles
A planning application to change the use of Howards House in Cardington into a specialist education school is still live, but faces serious obstacles following responses from council officers. The scheme, which proposes converting the historic Grade II* listed building into an independent special educational needs (SEND) school, has now drawn formal objections from highways
By Leigh