17 October 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Water palaver
It’s been a tough week for Anglian Water’s CEO, Mark Thurston, and an even tougher few years for his company’s customers.
Read: Police called after activists attempt ‘citizen’s arrest’ of Anglian Water CEO
Police were called to a London railway station on Wednesday, after eight women from the Citizen’s Arrest Network surrounded the £720,000-a-year executive, reading out a list of “charges” that included pollution, mismanagement, and generally taking the public for a ride.
Thurston looked deeply unimpressed in the photos, though not half as unimpressed as the millions of Anglian Water customers who keep paying his salary, shareholder dividends and the company’s £62.8 million in fines for not doing their job properly.
One social-media commenter summed it up nicely: “…women are the ones with the balls to actually do something…”
So, cheers to those women who stood up and stood firm. Because in a world awash with corporate sludge, it’s good to know someone’s willing to get their hands dirty for the rest of us.
Special mention, of course, to BedsGOVET, who, while not part of this protest, are consistently monitoring the levels of eColi and other pollutants in Bedford Borough’s waterways and feeding some quite damning data to the Environment Agency for further investigation.
Empty trail
Move over, John Bunyan Trail, Bedford has a new cultural attraction in town. Introducing Bedford Ian’s: Empty Buildings of Bedford Borough Trail, a self-guided walking (or weeping) tour through the Borough’s finest council-owned money pits.
Your journey begins at the iconic Oasis Beach Pool, Bedford’s pyramid-shaped tribute to indecision. Opened in 1991, refurbished for £500,000 in 2024, and soon to be closed again “temporarily,” it’s a monument to the spirit of maybe.
Read: Oasis Beach Pool to shut for winter as Bedford waits to learn what will happen next
Be sure to admire the recently upgraded boilers and lighting, which have been working tirelessly to illuminate absolutely no one.
From there, follow the trail of dashed hopes into the town centre, where you’ll discover our flagship attraction, Debenhams.
Once a bustling department store, now a £450,000-a-year shrine to municipal optimism. The perfect spot to reflect on what “investment” really means in Bedford Borough.
No tour would be complete without a few private-sector gems. Make a quick detour to The Phoenix, the pub that keeps rising from the ashes of its own confusion. Marvel at the way it continues to exist in a state of perpetual “will it, won’t it collapse.”
And don’t miss B&M, still proudly displaying its “bleak”, “visually uninteresting” and “garish” signage long after the council told them to make their shopfront more attractive.
Read: B&M told to tidy up town centre store after breaching planning conditions
So come one, come all, and experience the heritage of hesitation.
Visitor information
- Opening Hours: Subject to review
- Admission: Paid by the taxpayer
- Facilities: None (but there’s a consultation planned)
- Guided Tours: Dependent on funding
- Souvenirs: A sense of déjà vu and mild despair
- Accessibility: Limited – like the council’s budget
No excuse
It’s 2025. We’ve got self-driving cars, deliveries from almost any restaurant you can think of, and an app that’ll tell you what song you’re listening to, and yet somehow there are still people who think it’s acceptable to be racist, on the terraces, online, or anywhere else.
Credit where it’s due to our Sports Editor, Tom, for his powerful piece this week on the growing problem of racism in football. It shouldn’t need to be written, but it does, because this vile behaviour keeps happening – and it seems to be increasing too.
Read: The growing problem of racism in football. Why is it happening and what do we do to fix it?
Let’s be clear: these people aren’t ‘fans’, they’re scum. I’d compare them to Neanderthals, but that would be insulting to our ancestors. Real evolution means empathy, and clearly, some never made it even that far.
If you hear your mates being racist, call them out. If you see it online, report it. If you’ve still got ‘that one friend’ who hides behind jokes or nostalgia, get a new friend.
Racism has no place in football, no place in any sport, no place in Bedford, and no place in 2025.
90s revival?
There’s talk of a revival down on Barkers Lane, as Aspects Leisure Park gets a new owner and, whisper it, a fresh dose of optimism.
Read: Revival hopes as Aspects Leisure Park sold to award-winning developer
EDG Property has snapped up the site, promising to “restore it as a vital asset for Bedford.” Which, for those of us who remember its heyday, means one thing: the possibility of once again overeating at Fatty Arbuckle’s and ‘dancing’ until you puke at The Venue.
Because if you didn’t have your first drink, first kiss or first “where did all my mates go” moment somewhere between Laser Quest and Cineworld, are you even a Bedfordian elder?
The place was a who’s who of 1990s (and early 2000s) leisure, Pizza Hut birthday parties, all-you-can-eat ribs, and queues outside the cinema so long it felt like Disneyland. It was chaotic, noisy and gloriously Bedford.
Now, EDG says it wants to bring “new life” to the site and attract “high-quality tenants.”
That’s great, but deep down, most of us want somewhere that feels not just like the Bedford we remember but also like the places we all now have to drive along the A421 to get to.
Read: From lost memories to new beginnings, how Bedford can revive Aspects Leisure Park
A place where families can go out for food, students can go for a few drinks, and nobody has to worry about whether a development plan was “deliverable.”
So here’s hoping this really is a revival, not just another rebrand. Bedford could use a bit of fun again. Bring back the buzz (bar), the burgers and hopefully lots of bad dancing, although that was a lot safer in the 90s before camera phones were invented – thank goodness.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
