Our extreme heat response across Central Bedfordshire
Date Added: 22/07/2022
Cool spaces
Monday and Tuesday this week saw temperatures hit around 40 degrees across Central Bedfordshire; triggering a red alert from the Met Office for ‘extreme heat’.
In response to this exceptional weather, we offered up some of our libraries and leisure centres that have air-conditioning to residents who are at high risk of heat stroke or becoming ill through the high temperatures.
We of course welcomed anyone into these cool spaces, including emergency service crews who were driving or walking past, but they were set up specifically with the vulnerable in mind. It was great to see people making use of our offer, including a mum with a young baby needing a cool space to breastfeed.
We hope you all managed to stay cool and are finding today more bearable!
Ice cream surprise
On Tuesday, Chiltern View Care Home in Dunstable was visited at lunchtime by Mister Softee, Javeed Iqbal. This was an absolute delight for all the staff and residents at Chiltern View.
The care home manager, Jeanette Sherrell said what a ‘fab’ idea it was and Mister Softee gifted a significant amount of ice creams for free which took everyone by surprise. A few other ice cream vans visited other care homes across Central Beds, including Lady Spencer House and Sharnbrook Lodge. We expressed our thanks to all involved with this act of goodwill and making everyone smile.
Summer gritting - yes you read that right!
Our gritting crews had an unexpected July call-out, to spread a light dusting of crushed stone, instead of salt, to help soak up excess tar and reduce the likelihood of road surfaces melting.
This helped us to keep our roads safe and residents moving through the extreme heat.
Bin collections
We wanted to keep our bin collections going as we know heat and rubbish don't mix well!
So, to help us do this, we asked you to put your bins out before 6am so our crews could start earlier and finish earlier. Thanks to everyone who put their bins out as it made the rounds more bearable for our team.
Bin collections information
Extreme heat information
Over the pasted few weeks, we've been speaking to residents about the dangers of heat exhaustion, how to protect yourself and what to do if you think someone maybe experiencing symptoms.
There is more information about summer weather on our website.
Support for those sleeping rough
During extreme heat, Noah Enterprise provide rough sleepers with severe weather advice, water, sun cream, and other resources.
You can let us know someone is sleeping rough: through the StreetLink app, or on the phone 0300 300 4370 (day) / 0300 300 8098 (out of hours). If someone sleeping rough appears seriously unwell and you think they may need urgent medical assistance, call 999 straight away.
Working together
As part of our response, the Council was a key partner in the Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum which was set-up to manage the wider impacts of the heat including all the local fires, the impacts on hospital and the NHS and transport. We worked together across multiple organisations to assist with the response. As part of this, our 'Emergency Volunteers' group sprung into action helping out where they could.