13 June 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all.
Midland Road rage
Last week, I asked people to show a bit of respect when talking about Midland Road. I reminded readers that it’s home to fellow Bedfordians, families, workers, and business owners doing their best.
Turns out I could have saved my breath.
Because not long after our sports editor, Tom, published a thoughtful, honest piece about the area he actually lives in, the comments came flooding in. And not the helpful, constructive kind.
Read: Don’t let its glow up go to waste, we must all look after Midland Road
Nope. Instead, we got hatred, racism and outright ignorance, some of it barely disguised.
The kind of crap that gets your posts removed by Facebook’s community standards team, and let’s be honest, you have to go some way to fall foul of them.
To be crystal clear. Tom said that now Midland Road has been given a glow-up, it’s up to all of us to look after it: residents, the police, the council, and local services. Shared responsibility. Community pride. Radical stuff, right?
Apparently, too radical for some.
Let me say this as plainly as possible. If you think your keyboard gives you permission to spew racism or abuse at your neighbours just because they live on a street you don’t like the look of, you are part of the problem.
And yes, we see you. Just because your comment got deleted doesn’t mean it disappeared. The Bedford Independent keeps a record. Facebook keeps a record. And, unfortunately for you, so does the internet.
Bedford deserves better than this. So do the people who live on Midland Road. And so, frankly, do you, because no one gets stronger by dragging others down.
Zebra sequel
Following last week’s piece on the zebra crossing at the High Street/Embankment junction (Bedford Ian, 6 June 2025), I’ve had a couple of letters from readers and campaigners who weren’t too pleased with my thoughts.
Peter from the Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire says I must’ve been joking when I suggested the crossing might hold up traffic, and that Bedford has an unusually high number of crossings placed a little too close to junctions.
He reminded me (quite rightly) that crossings are for people, not cars, and that reducing traffic in the town centre should still be the goal.
Read: Letters: Through traffic should be banned on Bedford’s High Street
Then Dave from Castle Lane (who usually enjoys this column. Thanks, Dave) added that we no longer live in an age where “the car is king” and we should be proud of Bedford’s boldness in putting crossings where pedestrians actually want to cross.
A rare round of applause, too, for scrapping the old no-right-turn into The Embankment. I’ll give you that one.
Read: Letters: Car is no longer king, so is zebra crossing placement…
But with all due respect, both have slightly missed the point.
No one – including me – is saying there shouldn’t be a crossing.
Of course, pedestrians need safe places to cross, especially in a town that should be aiming to be walkable, breathable, and a little bit less honk-honk, vroom-vroom.
But there’s a difference between good crossings and good intentions.
The issue I raised is this. You come off Bedford High Street and instantly face a zebra crossing. Instantly. It’s tight. There’s barely time to register whether someone’s stepping out or not before you’re halfway across it.
And that’s even if you’re driving carefully and slowly (which plenty of people aren’t, let’s be honest).
If there’s a group of people crossing – and this is a popular pedestrian route – it will lead to tailbacks, especially for buses, delivery vans and traffic trying to turn left or right from either direction.
It’s not anti-pedestrian to say that. It’s just… basic road layout.
Cllr Lucy Bywater (Green/Castle) shared a Manchester-based report defending zebra crossings, and yes, it makes a good case for quieter side streets. But, the Embankment ain’t that.
If you think it is, I suggest trying to cross it on a sunny afternoon when people are flocking to the river for a look at the swans and an ice cream.
So by all means, let’s keep designing a town that prioritises people over vehicles – I’m all for it. But we’ve got to get the details right too.
Because if we don’t, we’ll end up with the worst of both worlds. Stressed-out drivers, frustrated pedestrians, and eventually a load of new paving dug up again in six months’ time.
Meeting mayhem
They say a week is a long time in politics. Well, in Bedford, you can squeeze in a month’s worth of drama before the bins are even collected.
On Tuesday, the mayor told council officers they must work from Borough Hall for at least three days a week to boost productivity, while simultaneously cancelling this month’s executive meeting due to a “thin agenda” and reports not being ready in time.
Read: Council staff told to return to the office three days a week as mayor cancels ‘thin agenda’ meeting
By Thursday, he was defending the cancellation of next week’s executive meeting, despite it being set to discuss a projected £15 million overspend.
Read: Mayor defends cancelled meeting as concerns grow over how council overspend will be tackled
Then, to round things off, not a single member of the executive turned up to last night’s Budget and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.
Why? Because they were attending a dinner with Sir James Cleverly MP, who, to be clear, has nothing to do with Bedford.
Read: Mayor and executive miss key scrutiny meeting to attend dinner with MP
Naturally, opposition councillors were outraged. But could the Liberal Democrats have done more to avoid the clash?
The committee chair, Cllr Michael Headley (Liberal Democrat/Putnoe), says cancelling the meeting would have required the committee to have to have a meeting to cancel it, which seems over the top but is technically accurate.
Still, let’s be honest, when a potential £15m hole in the council budget is on the table, couldn’t at least one executive member *cough* the mayor *cough* have stayed behind to face scrutiny?
This isn’t the first time politics has taken priority over public service. However, it’s becoming tiresome to watch Bedfordians being used as pawns while councillors argue about processes, budgets, and appearances.
So here’s a message to all of you, yellow, blue, red or otherwise: Sort. It. Out.
You work for us, the taxpayers. And if you don’t start prioritising your responsibilities over your party allegiances and in-fighting, don’t be surprised if we start looking for replacements by 2027.
There have been many comments about why smaller parties have suddenly won most of the seats in recent council elections elsewhere. Maybe it’s time to have a long, hard think about why that might be.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
