Bedford Borough of Bedford | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 52°8′0″N0°27′0″W / 52.13333°N 0.45000°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | England |
Region | East of England |
Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire |
Administrative HQ | Borough Hall, Bedford |
Government | |
• Type | Unitary Authority |
• Governing body | Bedford Borough Council |
• MPs | Richard Fuller (C) Alistair Strathern (L) Mohammad Yasin (L) |
Area | |
• Total | 476.4 km2 (183.9 sq mi) |
Population (2021) [1] | |
• Total | 185,761 |
• Rank | 107th |
• Density | 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
• Ethnicity | 85.5% White British 8.1% British Asian 2.9% Black British 1.3% Chinese or other 2.2% Mixed |
Time zone | GMT |
• Summer (DST) | British Summer Time |
ONS code | 00KB |
NUTS 3 | UKH22 |
Website | www |
The Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based in Bedford, its namesake and principal settlement, which is the county town of Bedfordshire. The Bedford built-up-area is the 71st largest in the United Kingdom and comprises the boundaries of the pre-1974 Bedford Municipal Borough, the town of Kempston and the village of Biddenham, [2] with the BUA 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 development, which received its first residents in 2009.
The ancient borough 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. [3] [4] The borough became a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
The District of Bedford was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the existing borough of Bedford, along with Kempston Urban District and Bedford Rural District. In 1975 the district was granted a royal charter granting borough status as North Bedfordshire. [5] The borough changed its name back from North Bedfordshire to Bedford in 1992. [6]
Bedfordshire's administrative structure was reorganised as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, meaning that Bedford Borough Council became a unitary authority in April 2009. Bedford Borough Council assumed responsibility in areas such as education, social services and transport which were previously provided by Bedfordshire County Council. [7] [8] [9]
The council is based at Borough Hall on Cauldwell Street on the banks of the River Great Ouse in the centre of Bedford. The building was previously known as County Hall and had been the headquarters of Bedfordshire County Council prior to 2009. The unitary authority area is divided into 28 wards for elections to the Borough Council. [10]
Most of the area of the pre-1974 municipal borough of Bedford is unparished, although the parish of Brickhill was created within that area in 2004. The rest of the modern borough, including Kempston (the borough's only CP with a town council), is parished. The parishes are: [11]
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Bedford.
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial and historic county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Luton which had a population of 225,262 in 2021.
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of its urban area, including Kempston and Biddenham, was 106,940. Bedford is also the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford, a unitary authority that includes a significant rural area.
Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, situated around 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Bedford town centre. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census, and forms part of the wider Bedford built-up area. The River Great Ouse separates it from the Queen's Park area of Bedford.
Bedfordshire is an English ceremonial county which lies between approximately 25 miles and 55 miles north of central London.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 125 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, most of the county being parished: Luton is completely unparished; Central Bedfordshire is entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 312,301 people living in the 125 parishes, which accounted for 55.2 per cent of the county's population.
Bedford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Mohammad Yasin of the Labour Party.
Kempston Rural is a civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.
Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.
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.
Bedford Borough Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Until 1 April 2009 it was a non-metropolitan district. Since 2002 it has also had a directly elected mayor.
North Bedfordshire was a county constituency in Bedfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Edworth is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about 12 miles (19 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford. It sits just off the Great North Road (A1) between Baldock and Biggleswade. There are fewer than one hundred inhabitants. At the 2011 Census, Edworth's population was amalgamated with the civil parish of Dunton.
Biddenham International School and Sports College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Biddenham in the English county of Bedfordshire.
Bedford College is a further education college located in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It is the principal further education provider in the Borough of Bedford, and is a member of the Collab Group of high performing schools.
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009.
St John’s School and College is a mixed special school located in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England. The school educates pupils ages 2 to 19 from all over the Borough of Bedford.
Kempston Barracks is a military installation at Kempston in Bedfordshire.