Towns Fund: St Paul's Square

Following the initial works in Harpur Square last year, the main construction phase began on 17 February 2025 and is expected to be completed by December 2025. While most work will be carried out with lane closures, some sections will require temporary road closures.

Key dates and project milestones

Footway works - Only lane closures, normal access to St Paul’s Square (17 February - 22 July and 1 September - 9 December 2025)

• Lane closures around St Paul’s Square.
• Pedestrian traffic management will be in place.
• Working times will vary depending on business hours.

Embankment Junction night closure - Normal access to St Paul’s Square (3 April - 7 May 2025) 

• The Embankment will be closed between Newnham Road and High Street. This is to carry out works to enable traffic to turn right onto The Embankment from the Town Bridge.
• Works will take place overnight from 8pm to 5am. 
• A diversion route will be signposted during closure hours.

Drainage works and road reconstruction - Road closed 24 hours a day between The Embankment and Horne Lane. No access to the southern side (Magistrates Court) of St Paul’s Square (23 July – 29 August 2025) 

• The new right turn into The Embankment will be open by the start of the school summer holidays.
• During these holidays, St Paul’s Square will be closed for traffic between The Embankment and Horne Lane.
• Road closure will be in place 24 hours a day.
• Pedestrian access will remain open.
• On reopening, the south side (Magistrates Court) of St Paul’s Square will be permanently reduced to a single lane of traffic.

Access to St Paul’s will largely remain unaffected by the works, except during the school summer holidays (23 July – 29 August). During this period, the southern side of St Paul’s, between The Embankment and Horne Lane, will be fully closed 24 hours a day. Diversion routes will be clearly signposted.

Access to businesses and residences will be maintained at all times, and the Council will work with business owners to minimise disruption to deliveries and operations during the works. Since the 24-hour road closure between The Embankment and Horne Lane is not scheduled until the school summer holidays, there is still time to finalise access plans for that period.

Bus services in St Paul’s Square will largely remain unaffected by the works. The only exception will be during the road closure in the school summer holidays, when a diversion route will be in place. While bus services approaching Bedford town centre from the south will be diverted, bus stops outside the Corn Exchange will remain unaffected. Alternative routes will be clearly signposted.

As you may have seen, works have started on Harpur Square as part of the Town Deal regeneration plans. New paving has been laid outside of the library and Harpur Suite, the bandstands have been levelled and statues relocated to the planters to make the square a more accessible, open space, ready for a variety of events, such as concerts, festivals, markets, etc. 

The contractors paused the works so as not to clash with events in July, but they will be back on site shortly to continue work to upgrade the square. 

Once work on Harpur Square, which will consist of not only new paving but furniture upgrades, new lighting, new water supply and lifting of tree crowns, has completed, the contractor will start work on St Paul’s Square on 17 February 2025.

This project is funded through Bedford’s successful £22.6 million bid from the government’s Towns Fund, supporting the Council’s strategic goals for St Paul’s Square, Harpur Square, and the town centre.

It was identified by town centre stakeholders as a key gateway and improvement area to enhance connectivity and drive economic growth.

Access will be provided to businesses at all times during the works. 

We will work with business owners to ensure that access and deliveries to their premises are disrupted as little as possible while the work is completed.

To minimise noise disruption during unsociable hours while the project is ongoing, the bulk of the work will take place between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. These hours may change when we are working adjacent to some businesses, to ensure that their access is not affected.

Road closures will be in place overnight only at The Embankment in April to carry out junction improvements there. This closure will be in place between 8pm and 5am.

During the school summer holidays, a full closure of the south side of St Paul’s Square (Magistrates Court) will be in place 24 hours per day.

Resurfacing works will take place overnight between 8pm and 5am.

As the works involve repaving the Market Square, we are working with the Markets and Events team to ensure that planned markets and other events are not affected by the works. 

This may mean that some events may need to be held in Harpur Square instead of the Market Square depending on what work is going on.

Weddings and other services to be held at Old Town Hall are not affected by these works, however it may be necessary to access the Old Town Hall building via a different route during some of the work. 

We are working with our colleagues at Old Town Hall to make sure that access arrangements are made during each phase of the works and they will advise their customers of these arrangements once confirmed.

Where possible, bus services serving St Paul’s Square will remain unaffected by the works. The only exception to this will be during the road closure in the school summer holidays, where buses approaching from the south of the river will need to follow a diversion route to get to the Bus Station.

We are working with St Paul's Church to ensure that there is no disruption to planned events held in the Church.

Although parking is limited around St Paul’s Square, there are a small number of parking bays on the south side of St Paul’s Square that are affected by the works. 

There will be times where some or all of these bays are not accessible depending on where the contractor is working. 

We recommend that road users consider parking in one of the Town Centre car parks instead, if possible.

Access to the northern side of St Paul’s remains the same for:

• delivery drivers
• commercial vehicles
• emergency vehicles
• buses
• taxis  
• drivers exiting the Harpur Centre car park 

Getting back to the Corn Exchange area will be via one of the two roundabouts on Horne Lane. All vehicles under 7.5 tonnes must use the mini-roundabout to U-Turn to avoid the bus lane restrictions. Larger vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, which require a larger turning circle, must use the main roundabout and will be permitted to use the associated bus lane. The monitored bus lane between River Street and the mini-roundabout will only permit good vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. 

Getting back to the Corn Exchange area will be via the roundabouts on Horne Lane. 

All vehicles under 7.5 tonnes must use the mini-roundabout, as the bus lane between River Street and the Howard Centre mini-roundabout is only permitted for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. The bus lane will continue to be monitored by a camera, and restrictions for vehicles under 7.5 tonnes will remain in place."

No, access will not be permanently affected, but there will be some impact while works are ongoing. The team will liaise with the Courts and local businesses to finalise access arrangements, including deliveries and bin collections. Once the works begin, the contractor will have a Public Liaison Officer in place to assist with any issues that arise for both the Court and nearby businesses.

No, it will not be signal-controlled.

No, this will remain.

Turnley Fountain will remain in its current position and condition. No changes are planned.

The cycle track is intended to make it easier for cyclists to reach their points of destination in the Town Centre. It provides access to nearby cycle parking facilities, including the covered shelter on Horne Lane. Additionally, new crossings will be built on St Paul’s Square to improve access to its north side (Corn Exchange).

The cycle track has been designed to separate cyclists from motorised traffic in line with current design standards, to encourage less confident cyclists and to provide a safer facility for them to use.

The cycle track will be constructed using asphalt materials and the surrounding pedestrian space will be constructed using natural stone slabs, providing a textural and colour contrast between the two spaces. 

The edgings will be marked using granite blocks, which will provide an additional textural contrast to assist those with sight impairments. 

Places to cross the cycle track will be indicated using tactile paving similarly to that provided when crossing the road.

The cycle track is separated from the road by a buffer area that pedestrians can walk on, but the main pedestrian routes will be between the cycle track and the buildings, with generous footways and benches provided for pedestrians to better enjoy this key part of the Town Centre.

The project will start on 17 February 2025 and complete in December 2025.

Businesses will not receive compensation for lost income, but the teams will work with affected businesses to minimise disruption.

Information about current and planned roadworks in Bedford Borough can be found at www.bedford.gov.uk/Roadworks.

Yes, there will be a mix of day, evening, and weekend events scheduled into 2025 to accommodate various schedules. 

If your question has not been answered in the above information please email town.deal@bedford.gov.uk and engineering.services@bedford.gov.uk. These teams will look into the detail of any complaints received.