The news of the temporary closure to the public of the Old Palace Lodge was a shock and a surprise to me and all of my fellow town councillors I have spoken to. The impact it has had on not least those that had bookings in the coming weeks for their weddings is huge. I truly feel for those impacted and hope that you have / are able to identify alternative venues to host your special days.
Following a meeting I attended, organised by Cllr’s John and Kenson Gurney, I asked our MP, Andrew Selous, to hold a public meeting, along with other key partners to help answer some of the many questions raised by the public in the last week and to explain what can be done in the coming weeks to support all of the community of Dunstable. Andrew has agreed to this, and he will publicise the date and venue shortly.
It’s important that we do look to see what we can do to secure the long-term viability of the hotel as I am sure that underneath all the concerns raised, we all want to see the doors and garden of the hotel re-opened to the public as soon as possible. Once it is re-open, we will need to ensure the support is given to make it a viable business to operate going forward.
Putting that matter aside, I had a lovely evening in Flitwick on Thursday, when I was joined by six of the towns pubs at this years Best Bar None Awards. Having gone through the accreditation programme the following pubs received accredited status for 2022 – congratulations to them all at the
- The White Swan
- The Poynters Arms
- The Highwayman Hotel
- Creasey Park
- The Old Sugar Loaf
- The Nags Head
On Sunday, I held a charity lunch at Efes. With 45 people coming together to help raise money for my chosen charities. A lovely lunch was served in the newly refurbished area of the restaurant- it was great to see whole restaurant busy with patrons. The team did a great job in serving up a super tasty meal. A raffle was held and together it helped raise £600 for my charities.
This next week is the big one …. a few engagements with community groups and opportunities to discuss sponsorship of town events plus the long advertised 24 hour Dart-a-thon.
With over 50 people committed to coming to play during the 24 hours, over 30 local businesses either sponsoring or providing food and raffle prizes I am confident we will be raising a significant sum over the weekend. Thank you in advance to the team at Creasey Park for hosting the event.
