Air ambulance and good neighbours scheme get cash boost as Biggleswade mayor reveals this year's chosen charities
Two charities are set to benefit from a share of more than £2,500 raised during the Mayor of Biggleswade’s 2025/26 civic year, a meeting heard.
Mayor Jonathan Woodhead revealed the amount collected from a range of events and activities during the past 12 months, at a town council meeting.
“There’s a paper on the mayor’s charities, and we’ve raised about £2,500 during the last year,” he told town councillors. “That overall figure is pretty good when you consider the current financial climate and the challenge around all fundraising at the moment,” he explained.
“Arrangements will be made around the donation of that money and organising a presentation to the two charities, Magpas Air Ambulance and Biggleswade Good Neighbours, for the previous civic year.
“For the coming civic year, so 2026/27, I’ll be supporting two charities again. I’ll continue with Mapgas Air Ambulance, which is a great organisation with which to be connected and has a real impact on residents in Bedfordshire more broadly.
“The other charity I’ll be supporting is the Biggleswade Baptist Church food bank. It sounds very much like an organisation which will need some support for the coming year. Those are the two charities going forward.
“I’ve been in touch with both of those in the last few days. They’re happy with that, one for continued backing and the other to have support for the next 12 months.”
Asked by town councillor Gary Barrett whether last year’s money would be shared equally between the two recipients, councillor Woodhead replied: “No, not quite.
“There’ll be a slightly bigger weighting towards Magpas Air Ambulance than Biggleswade Good Neighbours just to reflect on the scale of their activity. So one will receive roughly £1,500 and the other £1,000.”
Town councillor Michael North wondered why “exact figures” were unavailable, with references to “approximately” for each amount.
Councillor Woodhead said: “That’s a good question. I think there might still be a couple of bits to add up, but it’s only marginally over £2,500 overall.”
BTC’s head of finance Ernest Bour confirmed: “We’ll make sure those exact amounts are transferred to those two charities. There’ll be nothing left with us.”
Once an exact figure is reached, councillor Woodhead suggested it could be emailed to members by Mr Bour or he could circulate the details himself if necessary.
“I hope colleagues can support some of the activities in the year ahead,” he added.