In my last column, I wrote about the importance of investing in our Borough. That matters because councils should not just manage decline or leave key sites to sit empty.
Where there is an opportunity to shape the future of our town centre, we should be prepared to act with purpose.
That is why I am pleased to share some extremely positive news. Bedford Borough Council has now selected Cityheart as its preferred bidder to redevelop the area around the former Debenhams building into a new mixed-use destination.
Read: Bedford Borough Council selects preferred bidder for former Debenhams redevelopment
The aim is to bring this important town centre site back into better use, supporting new activity, jobs, homes, businesses and leisure opportunities.
More broadly, this regeneration project is about creating a more vibrant, welcoming and connected place where people want to visit, shop, live, work and spend time.
By taking a proactive approach, we can help bring fresh confidence and footfall into the heart of Bedford.
Fighting against bus reductions
Like many residents, I was deeply disappointed by Stagecoach’s decision to reduce bus services across the Borough.
For many people, buses are a vital lifeline, helping them get to work, attend appointments, go shopping, enjoy leisure activities and see loved ones. Not everyone has access to a car, and for many residents, the bus is an essential and affordable way to travel.
It is important to make it clear that these reductions are commercial decisions made by Stagecoach.
Read: Bedford Borough Council breaks silence on bus service changes
The Council has limited influence over commercial bus routes, timetables and service levels.
However, that does not mean my executive, council officers or I will simply sit back and accept the impact on our communities.
Over the past month, we have been hard at work with bus operators to find practical ways to reduce the impact of these changes.
As a result of that engagement, Grant Palmer has decided to register a new commercial route linking Wootton, Kempston and Bedford. While this will not replace every part of the previous Stagecoach 53 service, it will provide an important connection for many residents who rely on public transport.
The new service is expected to run hourly and is due to begin from Monday, 1 June 2026, subject to the necessary registration arrangements.
This is very welcome news for Wootton, but we have not forgotten about the rest of the Borough.
We will continue working with operators to seek practical solutions wherever possible, and I hope we will be able to share further positive updates in the future.
Fixing our roads
When I originally stepped into the role as Mayor, what I was greeted with was a road network in disarray, and I know this remains one of the issues people raise with me most often.
So we have been hard at working setting right the decades of underinvestment.
For the months of November and December 2025, January, March and April 2026, our teams delivered nearly 79,000m² of carriageway resurfacing and patching, more than 6,300m² of footway resurfacing, attended 1,358 streets for carriageway pothole repairs, completed over 3,100 highway safety inspections, cleansed more than 2,000 highway gullies, and dealt with over 5,600 customer service reports.
This work has been backed by record investment by the Council – in 2024/25 and 2025/26 combined, we invested around £22.8 million in highways maintenance.
This includes resurfacing, patching, drainage works, inspections, street lighting, winter maintenance and reactive repairs across the borough. We are starting to see the impact of that work. When I entered office in 2023, 38% of unclassified roads were rated red. By 2025, that had fallen to 18%.
There is always more to do, and I know residents want continued progress.
But these figures show the considerable amount of work being delivered across the borough, not only fixing potholes, but also resurfacing roads and footways, improving drainage, inspecting highways, maintaining streetlights, replacing assets and investing in prevention to keep Bedford Borough moving.
Mayor hits back at unfounded allegations
Rest assured, the spurious allegations of corruption are strongly denied and are being fully investigated.
Assertions by a former Portfolio Holder, and long-serving councillor, that “corrupt behaviour is being tolerated” is a most serious accusation, and reputationally damaging for Bedford Borough Council.
Such claims should not be made lightly; they risk damaging public confidence and the reputations of individuals without due process.
Where genuine concerns exist, they must be pursued through proper governance channels, not asserted without substantiation.
This is a monthly guest column provided by elected
Mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative). It is published unedited and
does not reflect the views of the Bedford Independent.
