Bedford Borough of Bedford | |
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 Coat of arms of Bedford Borough Council | |
 Bedford shown within Bedfordshire | |
| Coordinates:52°8′0″N0°27′0″W / 52.13333°N 0.45000°W /52.13333; -0.45000 | |
| Sovereign state |  United Kingdom |
| Country |  England |
| Region | East of England |
| Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire |
| Established | 1 April 2009 |
| 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 km2 (184 sq mi) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 194,976 |
| • Rank | 105th |
| • Density | 409/km2 (1,060/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
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| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | British Summer Time |
| ONS code | 00KB |
| NUTS 3 | UKH22 |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-BDF |
| Website | bedford |
Bedford, or theBorough of Bedford, is alocal government district withborough status in the ceremonial county ofBedfordshire, England. It is administered byBedford Borough Council, aunitary authority. The council is based inBedford, the borough's namesake and principal settlement, which is thecounty town of Bedfordshire.
The Bedford built-up-area isthe 71st largest in the United Kingdom and also includesKempston andBiddenham.[3] Away from the Bedford built-up area the borough includes a large rural area with many villages. 75% of the borough's population live in the Bedford built-up 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 theWixams new settlement, immediately south of Bedford, which received its first residents in 2009.
Theancient borough of Bedford was a borough by prescription, with its original date of incorporation unknown. The earliest surviving charter was issued c. 1166 byHenry II, confirming to the borough the liberties and customs which it had held in the reign ofHenry I.[4][5] The borough became amunicipal borough under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835.
TheDistrict of Bedford was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the existing borough of Bedford, along withKempston Urban District andBedford Rural District. In 1975 the district was granted aroyal charter granting borough status asNorth Bedfordshire.[6] The borough changed its name back from North Bedfordshire to Bedford in 1992.[7]
Bedfordshire's administrative structure was reorganised as part of the2009 structural changes to local government in England, meaning that Bedford Borough Council became aunitary authority in April 2009.Bedford Borough Council assumed responsibility in areas such as education, social services and transport which were previously provided byBedfordshire County Council.[8][9][10]
The council is based atBorough Hall on Cauldwell Street on the banks of theRiver 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 28wards for elections to the Borough Council.[11]
Most of the area of the pre-1974 municipal borough of Bedford isunparished, although the parish ofBrickhill was created within that area in 2004. The rest of the modern borough, including Kempston (the borough's only CP with atown council), isparished. The parishes are:[12]
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Bedford.
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52°08′04″N0°27′47″W / 52.13444°N 0.46306°W /52.13444; -0.46306
