The Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority area with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

in the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, England. Its council is based in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

, its namesake and principal settlement, which is the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

of Bedfordshire. The borough contains one large

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

, the 71st largest in the United Kingdom that comprises Bedford and the adjacent town of

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census. Kempston is part of Bedford's built-up area and is situated directly south-west of Bedford proper. The Riv ...

, surrounded by a rural area with many villages. 75% of the borough's population live in the Bedford Urban Area and the five large villages which surround it, which makes up slightly less than 6% of the total land area of the Borough. The borough is also the location of the Wixams

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

development, which received its first residents in 2009.

Formation

The

ancient borough The ancient boroughs were a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is larg ...

of Bedford was a borough by prescription, with its original date of incorporation unknown. The earliest surviving charter was issued c. 1166 by Henry II, confirming to the borough the liberties and customs which it had held in the reign of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...

. The borough became a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and ...

. The District of Bedford was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the existing borough of Bedford, along with

Kempston Urban District Kempston was an urban district in Bedfordshire, England between 1896 and 1974. Formation The historic parish of Kempston covered a large area to the south-west of the town of Bedford. From 1835 Kempston had been part of the Bedford Poor Law ...

and

Bedford Rural District Bedford Rural District was a rural district in Bedfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded but did not include the Municipal Borough of Bedford and Kempston Urban District. Evolution The district had its origins in the Bedford Ru ...

. In 1975 the district was granted a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

granting borough status as North Bedfordshire. The borough was renamed as Borough of Bedford in 1992. Over half of the former municipal borough of Bedford is unparished. However, Brickhill is a parish. The rest of the district including Kempston is parished. The

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...

have reorganised Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, meaning that Bedford Borough Council became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

in April 2009. This means Bedford Borough has assumed responsibility in areas such as education, social services and transport which were previously provided by Bedfordshire County Council.

Council and cabinet

Unlike most English districts, Bedford's council is led by a

directly elected mayor of Bedford The Mayor of Bedford is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function, and ceremonial duty of Bedford Borough Council in Bedfordshire. The incumbent is Dave Hodgson of the Liberal Democrats who succeeded Frank Branston in 200 ...

, who has been

Dave Hodgson David Stuart Hodgson MBE (born 21 October 1959) is the directly elected mayor of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Hodgson is the second elected mayor to represent the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. Hodgson was electe ...

since 16 October 2009. The first elections for the new unitary Bedford Borough Council were held on 4 June 2009 when 36 councillors in addition to the mayor were elected. Since an electoral review which came into effect for the local elections in 2011, Bedford Borough has had 40 councillors in addition to the mayor. Since the 2019 elections, Bedford Borough Council’s executive committee (cabinet) is headed by the mayor and includes 10 members from the Liberal Democrat, and Labour groups, and the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

. Conservative and Green members sit in opposition on the council.

Wards and civil parishes

The urban part of the borough consisting of most of the Bedford/Kempston Urban Area is divided into 13 wards, some of which are also civil parishes: Bedford UK ward map 2011 (blank)

The wards and constituent civil parishes in the rural part of the borough are as follows:

Premises

From 1892 the council was based at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

in St Paul's Square, which had previously been part of

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English ind ...

, with parts of the building dating back to c. 1550. Following the abolition of

Bedfordshire County Council Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established on 24 January 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. In 1997 Luton Boroug ...

in 2009, Bedford Borough Council took over the old County Hall on Cauldwell Street, renaming it Borough Hall.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Bedford.

Individuals

* Etienne Stott: 11 December 2012.

Military Units

* Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment: November 1955 * RAF Cardington: 16 July 1959. * 287 Regiment Royal Artillery: 5 May 1963. * 1st Battalion

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating ...

: 1980. * 201 (

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

and

Yeomanry) Battery

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

): 3 May 1986. * RAF Henlow: 26 September 1992. * 774th USAF Airbase Group: 15 December 1994. * 134 (Bedford) Squadron Air Training Corps: 1 August 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Borough of Local government districts of Bedfordshire Local government in Bedfordshire Unitary authority districts of England English unitary authorities created in 2009 Boroughs in England