Bedford Borough Council spent over £340,000 on commercial storage in 2023/24 – but a senior councillor said there has been a “significant” reduction in expenditure following a major service review.
Data from the council’s payment card records showed 1,474 transactions to Safestore Ltd Online, totalling £353,969, during the last financial year.
After a refund of £12,871.46 from Safestore Bedford, and single £107.88 payment to www.safestore.co.uk, the total net (without VAT) spend stood at £341,205.42.
Councils may use commercial storage services for many reasons, including to temporarily house the belongings of residents placed in emergency or temporary accommodation, particularly in homelessness or safeguarding cases.
Council officers did not respond to questions about the storage costs, however, councillor Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant (Conservative, Great Barford), portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services, did provide a statement.
“Over the past two years we’ve made a significant investment in the Housing Service in order to deliver a sustainable reduction in the council’s ongoing expenditure,” she said.
“As is evident from the monthly outgoings since April 2024 we have seen a significant reduction in the council’s spending; this is illustrated by our spending of April 2025.”
The current total for April 2025 is £2,073.73 – the final total won’t be available until the data for May 2025 is published.
Councillor Martin-Moran-Bryant said: “This is part of the administration’s vision to ensure we offer a high-quality service to people experiencing or in danger of experiencing homelessness while also reducing the burden to the taxpayer.
“While we will never rest on our laurels and always wish to improve, I am confident that the fall in costs in the last six months is evidence that we are delivering exactly what all our residents will expect.”
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
