The last few months have been full of family-friendly events and achievements that have highlighted the brilliance of Bedford Borough; celebrating our tremendous communities and culture.
So, what has been happening?
- We have had an incredible number of events and festivals in these last few months, capped off by a fabulous River Festival. The Bedford Summer Sessions Concerts also drew in some big names with Tom Jones, Avril Lavigne and Jess Glynne lighting up the stage. Smaller festivals including the Italian festival and others across the Borough helped celebrate our incredible communities, cultures and heritage.
- The Council was also pleased to confer the Freedom of The Borough on the Armed Forces Strategic Command Chicksands.
- The Council vastly improved the now immensely popular leisure facilities that have reopened under a new operator, Greenwich Leisure. Oasis Pool saw an encouraging number of 17,000 visitors in June following the reopening.
- Four of the parks in Bedford (Bedford Park, Addison Howard Park, Priory Country Park, and Harrold-Odell Country Park) have again been awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award for 2024. This internationally recognised quality mark celebrates well-managed and welcoming parks and open spaces.
- We have adopted a new Town Centres development programme for Bedford and Kempston with a range of projects to regenerate these important centres. Harpur Square has benefitted from some recent investment by opening up and providing a more usable space. Improvements in St. Paul’s Square are due shortly, and a developer is being sought for a major development of the Mayes Yard area, including the former Debenhams building, that will act as a catalyst for regeneration in Bedford. Regeneration of Greyfriars is also planned.
- And, of course, Universal Studios continues to pursue a new park and resort experience in Bedford that will create thousands of jobs, help to drive footfall up to existing local businesses and unlock major investment into other local enterprises and infrastructure. I am continuing to meet and work with Universal to ensure we benefit as much as possible from this investment.
I am so proud of the progress being made and, as I have often said, Bedford’s best days are ahead.
