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9 November 2026
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Latest news from across Bedford Borough, when and where you want it. The Bedford Independent is your best source of Bedford news on mobile, tablet and desktop.

The Bedford Independent was founded to provide the people of Bedford Borough with a modern news desk that would give them easy access to genuine and unbiased Bedford news. We are independent in ownership and opinion.

Our mission is to inform and inspire the people of Bedford. To do this we will work hard to bring them the news that matters to them from our town centre to the most rural of the Borough’s villages.

Our editorial team are NCTJ trained and abides by the IMPRESS Standards code of conduct and our own stringent, modern ethical editorial policy.

Bedford Town Centre from above

How people in Bedford spend their evenings with Europe’s biggest theme park underway

Construction on the Universal theme park at Kempston Hardwick started on 12 January 2026. Three miles south of Bedford town centre, on 476 acres of former brickworks land...
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(l-r) Tristan Tate and his brother Andrew speaking to media outside a Bucharest Court in January 2025. Image: LCV/Shutterstock.com

Tate brothers arrested and charged with 38 new offences following Bedfordshire investigation

Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in Miami following a sexual offences investigation by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit...
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Real Bedford players celebrate a goal against Stratford Town at the Ledger Stadium in February 2026

Real Bedford look to bounce back from play-off pain as Southern League fixture list released

Real Bedford will kick off another Southern League Premier Central season against relegated Leamington at the Ledger Stadium on Saturday, 8 August as another step three campaign begins...
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Jet Boots disply team performing in front of the suspension bridge on the River Great Ouse at the Bedford River Festival 2024. Image: Bedford Independent

Mayor criticised over “flippant” river pollution comments on eve of festival

The Bedford River Festival has opened under a cloud of criticism following remarks by Mayor Tom Wootton regarding river pollution, sparking deep frustration from a local environmental group....
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England football flag at half mast outside Beards Estate Agents after the men's team's exit July 2026. Image: Bedford Independent.

Bedford Ian writes…

17 July 2026: Hove actually, Flagging spirits, and Street springs. Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
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"Beloved" teacher Sharon Carter amongst the corridor 'doodles' drawn in her honour. Image: Brickhill Primary School

Beloved Brickhill teacher retires after 39 years as children “doodle” the corridors in her honour

A beloved schoolteacher has retired after 39 years of inspiring children, spending her final 24 years at Brickhill Primary School where pupils and staff created a special art exhibition...
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Bedford Hospital main entrance Image: Gordon Bell/Shutterstock

CBC leader suggests Bedford Hospital be turned into housing if Tempsford New Town gets the go-ahead

Early proposals for a new hospital at the planned Tempsford New Town development has led to the leader of Central Bedfordshire Council calling for a new major regional hospital...
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Water quality testing on River Great Ouse. Image BedsGovet

Monthly column: Bedford’s Priory Sewage Plant upgrade ruled out until 2030

We at BedsGOVET are fighting hard to keep the River Great Ouse monitored so that we can inform all river users of contamination issues, especially the extremely high levels of E. coli...
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Bjon Hove, Bedford Borough Council's lead events and infrastructure officer, in Russell Park ahead of the 2026 Bedford River Festival. Behind him the big wheel is being erected and workers are putting up stalls and other attractions. Image: Bedford Independent.

WATCH: The River Festival is “a Bedford event,” says the Bedfordian who pulls it all together

The Bedford River Festival returns this weekend (18 and 19 July). While council staff manage the infrastructure, local independent businesses and community groups are running the main events...
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Mohammed Rahman Image Bedfordshire Police custody photo

Bedfordshire Police dismantle Bedford drug network as county line leader jailed

A 24-year-old Bedford man who directed a large-scale county drug line using a network of local runners has been jailed for six years and five months after police raided his property...
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