Demographics
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority serving a growing population. It is a largely rural area with over half the population living in the countryside and the rest in a number of market towns. The largest of these are Leighton Linslade, Dunstable, Biggleswade, Houghton Regis, Flitwick, Sandy, and Ampthill.
The area is generally prosperous, with above average levels of employment. However, there are areas where we do have pockets of deprivation and greater need (parts of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, for example), and we know that residents across the area are making use of local foodbanks and debt advice services.
The area has excellent transport links with the A1 and M1 running through it, three main rail lines, and two international airports, Luton and Stansted, on the doorstep. It is in the centre of an academic ‘golden triangle’ between Oxford, Cambridge, and London Universities and also benefits from its own academic institutions at Cranfield University, the University of Bedfordshire, and other further education colleges.
It is a great place to live and work. It is a relatively safe, green, and affluent area that attracts major investment. People living in Central Bedfordshire earn more than the national average; this is in part influenced by some residents commuting out of the area – primarily to Hertfordshire, Luton, London, Milton Keynes, and Bedford.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination and harassment based on ‘protected characteristics.’ The following section considers these protected characteristics as they relate to Central Bedfordshire and some additional factors which impact life chances.
