As Leader of the Opposition on Bedford Borough Council, I refuse to talk our town down.
The people of Bedford Borough are brilliant. Our Borough is full of people whose creativity, resilience and community spirit give me real confidence for the future.
We have workers based locally and those who commute, small business owners and entrepreneurs, volunteers and artists, parents and carers, and every other person who makes up our multifaceted Borough.
Bedford’s strength is powered by people who care and who want this place to thrive. But they need a Council which will support them.
So much to do
Our cultural and evening economy is no different.
There is so much to celebrate: great places to go out to eat and drink, leading venues like Esquires, the Bedfordshire Festival, Place Theatre, Bedford Park Concerts, our home-grown Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and the long-standing residency of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
These are not just events; they are part of our identity, our pride, and our economic strength.
That is why I cannot understand why the Conservative mayor believes now is the moment to hit residents with new high-cost evening and overnight parking charges.
These charges are already hurting businesses and deterring people from enjoying our town centre. Residents tell me they simply cannot afford to come into town when a new flat rate evening fee is added, the moment the clock strikes 6pm or 8pm, depending on the car park.
At a time when we should be encouraging people to come into town, the mayor is putting up barriers and undermining our evening economy.
Parking shouldn’t be a penalty, and you simply don’t grow a town by pricing people out of it. Parking certainly shouldn’t be used to bail out a mismanaged council.
I am positive about all that Bedford Borough has to offer – but we need a Council and a mayor who will back Bedford, not burden it. Yes, finances are tight. But the choices being made are not just tough; they are counterproductive.
We need to cut vanity projects, not penalise the businesses which are the engine of growth.
Leadership needs ambition
Take the arrival of the Universal theme park. The groundwork for this opportunity was laid years ago by our Economic Development Team under our previous mayor. Yet just as Universal prepares to invest in Bedford, the mayor is cutting that very team.
This is the department that also brought many new businesses, secured extra government funding, and helped establish the Health and Digital Skills Centre at Bedford College, reconnecting the College to the riverside.
These are the people who bring jobs, investment and growth. Cutting them now is a false economy because you can’t build prosperity by shrinking the very team that delivers it.
Bedford deserves leadership that matches the ambition of its people. Leadership that understands that prosperity does not happen by accident – it happens when you nurture it.
It happens when you support the businesses, workers, artists and innovators who make this Borough what it is.
I’m backing Bedfor,d and as Liberal Democrat Leader, I’ll keep fighting for a Council that does the same.
This is a monthly guest column provided by Cllr Henry Vann,
leader of the Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group.
It is published unedited and does not reflect the
views of the Bedford Independent.
