Land and premises

Services and Leisure

The Borough

Bedford Borough covers an area of 476 square kilometres. The borough is made up of the county town of Bedford and a large rural area. The town is located to the south of the borough; other neighbouring small towns include Sandy and St Neots to the east, Rushden and Wellingborough to the north. The largest neighbouring towns are Milton Keynes to the west, Northampton to the north, Cambridge to the east and Luton to the south.

Town Centre
Bedford town centre is the main centre for shopping, financial and administrative services and culture in the Borough. Bedford is a traditional market town with an open-air market held every Wednesday and Saturday selling a wide variety of goods from its central town centre location, a gourmet food market held every Thursday and a flower market held every Friday. The town centre offers a wide range of shops and services including The Harpur Centre - which attracts over 6 million shoppers a year with 30 high quality shops under one roof. More information on shopping and local attractions can be found on the website Come Around to Bedford.

Housing Profile

There were 466 additional dwellings completed in the borough in 2005-06. This was represented by 285 dwellings completed in the Growth Area (Bedford, Kempston and the northern Marston Vale) and 181 dwellings were built elsewhere in the borough. There were 305 affordable dwellings and 26 mobility dwellings completed between 2005-06.

Bedford has a Victorian core of housing but significant expansion in the last fifty years has diversified the nature of housing available. The rural areas have developed at various rates, with the larger villages being located on the most popular transport routes.

Employment Profile
Bedford has a workforce of over 75,500 providing a plentiful and varied supply of labour. This labour force is forecasted to grow significantly by the next decade following housing developments.

There is a high level of commuting into and out of the borough. Nearly 29% of the working age residents commute out of the borough, whilst 26% of the workers in the borough commute into the borough.

The town's excellent educational facilitates further ensure a continuous contribution to the high quality of Bedford's labour pool. Information on the employment profile of Bedford can be found on Bedford Development Agency’s site.

Bedford’s economic character
Bedford is an important administrative centre for both public and private organisations and a regional base for professional, retail and cultural services. It is home to technological and research enterprises as well as a diverse range of industrial sectors including engineering, food and drink, health care and distribution. It is an important focus for economic and employment growth in the country. The top employment industries are education and heath, accounting for nearly 20% of the residents of the boroughs employment in 2001.Bedford has a strong and vibrant business community, with many companies achieving national and international success. Further information on the local economy is available from Bedford Development Agency.

Transport
Travelling around Bedford can take many forms and people will often choose the mode which is the easiest and the most direct route. There are a range of public transport services within the Borough which include bus, rail and coach services. Information about these services (and other transport information) can be found on the Bedfordshire County Council website.

Bedford has good links by train to Milton Keynes, the Midlands, Brighton, London and the airports at Luton and Gatwick. By road the A421 links east to west of the borough from the M1 to the A1. Other main roads link to Rushden to the north, Olney and Milton Keynes to the west, Sandy to the east, and Clophill and Shefford to the south. Bedford is linked by buses and coaches to Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Luton, Hitchin, Dunstable and Northampton.

Bedford Borough Council continues to strive to improve the opportunity for cycling and walking within the Borough as part of the development of sustainable transport. Bedfordshire County Council is producing the Draft Bedfordshire Highway Design Guide. Further guidance on cycle parking is in the link below.

Bedfordshire County Council Cycle Parking Guidance - DOWNLOAD

Environment

The borough has numerous open spaces within the urban area and Harrold-OdellCountryPark and the countryside in the rural area. The Forest of Marston Vale is designated in the south of the borough. The River Great Ouse runs east to west of the borough, dividing the borough into north and south. The borough has 7 nationally important Sites of Special Scientific Interest and 7 designated Local Nature Reserves. The borough contains 26 conservation areas, 1,363 listed buildings, 69 scheduled ancient monuments and 4 historic parks and gardens.

Cultural activities and tourism

The borough attracts approximately 3 million day visitors and 300,000 staying visitors a year.

Bedford is steeped in history and as a result has many cultural activities to offer. Bedford’s main assets as a tourist centre are its strong historical associations with John Bunyan, John Howard and Glenn Miller and its attractive river and embankment. The Bunyan Museum and Elstow Moot Hall, both contain displays about John Bunyan’s life. In addition, there is the Bedford Museum, with displays of human history of the region from prehistoric time and the award winning Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, with a collection of ceramics, glass and watercolours and an adjoining Victorian Mansion. Bedford also has the recently enhanced Castle Mound and Gardens. Bedford’s main arts and entertainment is at the Corn Exchange. For information about these and other attractions please visit theTourist Information Centre .

Leisure

The borough provides a range of leisure facilities, including Bedford Athletic Stadium, several swimming pools and numerous parks in the urban area and Harrold-OdellCountryPark in the rural area.

SERVICES A-Z

Planning Services
Tree Preservation Order
Planning Applications

Planning Town and Country
Planning Public Access Portal
Planning Applications Weekly List
Appeals
Briefing Notes
Town Centre Area Action Plan Inspectors Report
Landscape Character Assessment
Advertisements
Planning Complaints
Local Plan
Right to Speak Scheme
Latest News in Planning
Useful Planning Websites
Maps of the Conservation Areas and Conservation Area Appraisals
Planning Applications
Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings
Planning Terms
Bedfords Population
Tree Preservation Orders
Enforcement
Frequently Asked Questions on Planning
Publications List
Payments for Planning Service
Town Centre Area Action Plan Submission Version
Contacts for other services relating to Planning
Planning Portal
Conservation Area
Publications and Charges