| Central Bedfordshire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Unitary Authority — | |||
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| Shown within Bedfordshire | |||
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
| Constituent country | England | ||
| Region | East of England | ||
| Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire | ||
| Founded | 1 April 2009 | ||
| Admin. HQ | Chicksands | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | unitary authority | ||
| • Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet | ||
| • Executive: | Conservative | ||
| • MPs: | Alistair Burt (C) Nadine Dorries (C) Gavin Shuker (L) Andrew Selous (C) |
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| Area | |||
| • Total | 276.3 sq mi (715.7 km2) | ||
| Area rank | 52nd | ||
| Population (2010 est.) | |||
| • Total | 255,200 | ||
| • Rank | Ranked 49th | ||
| • Density | 923.5/sq mi (356.6/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | British Summer Time (UTC+1) | ||
| Postcode | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | |||
| ONS code | 00KC | ||
| OS grid reference | |||
| NUTS 3 | |||
| Ethnicity | 97.3% White | ||
| Website | centralbedfordshire.gov.uk | ||
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009. The unitary council provides over a hundred services to 120,000 homes and over a quarter of a million people.[1]
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Since 1974, Bedfordshire had been governed as a shire county, mostly under the control of Bedfordshire County Council. It was divided into three local government districts, Bedford Borough, Mid Bedfordshire, and South Bedfordshire. Luton Borough became a unitary authority in 1997.
In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The four proposals considered were:
On 6 March 2008 the DCLG decided to implement Proposal 2. This meant that from 1 April 2009 there would be three unitary authorities in Bedfordshire - Bedford, Luton and the new Central Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire County Council initially challenged this decision in the High Court, but on 4 April 2008 it was announced the Judicial Review in the High Court had been unsuccessful, and the County Council declared they would not be appealing the decision.[4][5][6][7]
Subsequently, a shadow council for Central Bedfordshire was formed from all the members of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire councils, as well as all Bedfordshire County Council members from the Central Bedfordshire area. The inaugural meeting of the shadow council was held on 10 April 2008. A shadow Executive for the council was also formed consisting of 4 members of each council. The shadow Executive (and council) were led by Tricia Turner (former leader of Mid Bedfordshire District).[8]
Before the creation of Central Bedfordshire Council in 2009 the three former authorities had a total of 139 Councillors between them. As a result of the merger this was reduced to 59 in 2011.
The first elections for the new Central Bedfordshire Council were held on 4 June 2009 when 66 councillors were elected from 28 wards.[9] Since significant boundary changes in 2011 Central Bedfordshire has since had 59 councillors.[10]
| Year | Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Independent | Other | Control | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009[11][12] | 54 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | Conservative win | |
| 2011[13] | 49 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | Conservative win | |
Since May 2011 the Council has been led by James Jamieson with a cabinet of six portfolio holders.,[14].
The Central Bedfordshire area includes the following towns and villages which were previously located in Mid and South Bedfordshire. Central Bedfordshire is an area of mostly small towns and villages. However, the towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis form part of the Bedfordshire's largest conurbation with neighbours Luton.
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