A PLAN to help safeguard a town s historical past by producing a special document about its heritage will hopefully be completed during the next 12 months. The Biggleswade Heritage Project is being conducted by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity b

A PLAN to help safeguard a town's historical past by producing a special document about its heritage will hopefully be completed during the next 12 months.

The Biggleswade Heritage Project is being conducted by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity based at The Smithy in Old Warden.

In charge of the project is Carrie-Anne Rowley, the charity's environment and community officer who is putting the finishing touches to a submission to English Heritage for funding.

The charity is looking for £10,000 that will cover the costs of the project for a year during which time the document will be completed.

The heritage project, that has the full support of Biggleswade Town Council, will chart the town's history over hundreds of years and also pinpoint sites of interest and those needed to be preserved, especially those for any future archaeological investigation.

"Hopefully we will be able to submit our bid to English Heritage within the next six weeks," said Mrs Rowley.

"Our document will hopefully not only reflect the town's rich history but also help preserve it for future generations.

"You must remember with all the developing that is planned for areas around the town there is a high risk of losing some of the town's heritage.

"But this project is also a way of highlighting what Biggleswade has got on its doorstep in terms of its history like its Saxon past and many other things."

Mrs Rowley added: "Hopefully we will have the support from English Heritage in place as soon as possible but we also need support from many other organisations in the town to make them feel they are making a contribution to what will be a strategic document and a statement about the town's past."

The charity will also make the document available to local schools so they have a better and more intimate understanding of Biggleswade's past that could be incorporated into educational programmes

"There is still a lot of heritage and history that is hidden away and we want to uncover it," added Mrs Rowley.