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Tuesday, 15 July 2025
A year of impact: how the UKSPF is transforming Central Bedfordshire
We're celebrating a successful year of delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).
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Monday, 16 June 2025
Council to attend conference to outline new digital skills project
We presented an exciting new initiative at the Socitm Conference in June, focussing on how digital skills training can unlock opportunities for care experienced young people.
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Monday, 10 March 2025
Council celebrates success in Best Bar None Awards Scheme
A presentation was held recently to celebrate 19 venues across Central Bedfordshire achieving Best Bar None accreditation for 2024.
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Thursday, 7 November 2024
Give us your feedback on proposed Street Trading Policy updates
We're asking for feedback on proposed updates to our Street Trading Policy, which aims to create a more welcoming environment for street trading and strengthen food hygiene and safety standards.
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Monday, 21 October 2024
Over £290,000 boost for our communities
We're excited to announce that 11 community facilities will benefit from grants worth a total of £298,155.
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Tuesday, 30 July 2024
South Midlands Authorities launched to unite region and drive economic growth
Local leaders from across the South Midlands have joined forces, establishing a new group to champion economic growth by supporting businesses, improving skills, and enhancing career opportunities.
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Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Bakery receives fine and temporary closure order over mice infestation
A Bedfordshire bakery was temporarily closed and incurred fines exceeding £2,000 following an investigation that revealed a serious mouse infestation throughout its food storage and production areas.
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Thursday, 16 May 2024
Round two of UKSPF/REPF community grants to launch next month
From Monday, 10 June 2024, voluntary, community and social enterprise groups, as well as town and parish councils, will be able to apply for a share of £298,000 to fund local capital projects.
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Thursday, 8 February 2024
£240,000 boost for Central Bedfordshire communities
Much-loved facilities in Central Bedfordshire will benefit from council grants worth £240,000, supporting communities in the area and some of their most disadvantaged residents for years to come.
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Thursday, 23 November 2023
Local economy to get £2 million boost from business support
Hundreds of Central Bedfordshire businesses are set to benefit from £2 million worth of free, specialist advice on start-up and growth, innovation, developing trade and export, and decarbonisation.
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Friday, 22 September 2023
£260,589 capital grant scheme to boost local community projects this year
We're launching a new £260,000 scheme to improve and strengthen communities and neighbourhoods’ spaces throughout our area.
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Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Dunstable shop owner fined for selling illicit vapes
Selling illicit vaping devices has cost a Dunstable retailer over £2,000.
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Friday, 14 July 2023
Filled with pride! The Refill scoops Gold Business Award
The Refill Leighton Buzzard has won Gold for the Green Award at the 2023 SME Luton and Bedfordshire Business Awards.
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Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Illegally collecting fares in Dunstable has cost a former taxi driver nearly £3,000
On 21 March at Luton Magistrates Court, Mr Mohammed Saleem of John Street, Luton, was found guilty of illegally driving a previously licensed taxi without the required taxi driver's badge.
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Friday, 24 March 2023
Clifton builder receives two community orders for shoddy work
A local builder has been ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty in court to sub-standard work.
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Friday, 10 March 2023
Have your say on proposals to transform part of Leighton Buzzard town centre
We're consulting on exciting plans designed to transform an area south of the High Street in Leighton Buzzard which will help to ensure the town continues to be a thriving, bustling and vibrant place.
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Thursday, 9 March 2023
Women’s tour set to become biggest sporting event ever in Ampthill
The Women’s Tour, the UK’s leading international women’s cycle race, will become the biggest sporting event ever to visit Ampthill when the free-to-attend spectacle heads there in June.
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Monday, 30 January 2023
Recognising the Best Bar None in Central Bedfordshire
Some of Central Bedfordshire’s most popular pubs, clubs, and bars were celebrated at an awards ceremony held at The Rufus Centre in Flitwick on Thursday evening (26 January).
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Thursday, 5 January 2023
£3.6million of funding to build prosperity in Central Bedfordshire
The government has signed off our plans to use £3.6million of UK Shared Prosperity Funding over the next two years to help local communities flourish and thrive.
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Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Encouraging healthy workplaces in Central Bedfordshire
We, in partnership with Bedford Borough Council and Milton Keynes City Council, have launched a new set of health and wellbeing standards for local workplaces.
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Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Cheers! Local Gin Distillery wins Gold in Business Awards
Sandy based gin distillery Willow Tree Gin has won Gold for the Sustainability Award at the 2022 SME Luton and Bedfordshire Business Awards.
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Thursday, 28 July 2022
Landowners fined for breaking planning rules
Owners of land in Haynes who failed to comply with our enforcement notice after erecting a large building and new access on their land without planning permission have been fined over £5,000
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Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Central Bedfordshire businesses up for top Sustainability Award
Teaching Talons and Willow Tree Distilling are the finalists for the ‘Sustainability Award’ at the SME Luton and Bedfordshire Business Awards 2022, sponsored by us and Green Business Network
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Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Biggleswade self-storage company fined for breaking planning rules
A landowner and 2 directors of self-storage company ‘Contain-it-4U Ltd’ in Biggleswade have been fined more than £2,100.
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Monday, 4 July 2022
Delivery robots coming to Central Bedfordshire
Delivery robots will soon be seen on the pavements and streets in Central Bedfordshire.
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Tuesday, 28 June 2022
VentureDay 2022 sets businesses up for the future
Over 150 businesses, investors and entrepreneurs from across the wider region returned to Cranfield University campus for a day of learning, networking and business lead generation.
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Friday, 24 June 2022
Join us for Dunstable Fun Day on 16 July to thank local people and businesses
We're holding a free family fun day on Saturday 16 July 2022 from 10am to 3pm.
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Thursday, 14 April 2022
Shared Prosperity Fund to help create a prosperous Central Bedfordshire
We've been allocated £4.9 million from the government to help local communities grow and thrive.
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Friday, 8 April 2022
Central Bedfordshire businesses encouraged to enter SME Luton and Bedfordshire Business Awards 2022
After 2 of the most challenging years for businesses, we're encouraging local businesses to enter the fourth SME Luton and Bedfordshire Business Awards, to celebrate their success and achievements.
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Monday, 28 March 2022
Are you a solar panel installer?
We're looking for installers interested in delivering high-quality residential installations in ours and neighbouring areas.
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Thursday, 3 March 2022
Luton and Dunstable set for Full Fibre boost as CityFibre announces £45m rollout
CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has named Luton and Dunstable as the next UK towns in line for a multi-million-pound investment in their digital infrastructure.
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Tuesday, 23 November 2021
We're announcing £600,000 funding for business support programmes with Cranfield University and SEMLEP
We're committing a further £600,000 to deliver additional business support programmes.
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Friday, 19 November 2021
Free business support webinar for Central Bedfordshire businesses
We're hosting a free webinar for businesses (Tuesday 30 November, 2:30pm to 3:30pm).
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Monday, 11 October 2021
We're working with South East Midlands Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) to deliver robust business support programme to support recovery and resilience
Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding from the government has enabled us to engage with SEMLEP to deliver business support and business mentoring to local companies, impacted by coronavirus.
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Monday, 4 October 2021
Calling Central Bedfordshire businesses! We're working with the Green Business Network to launch green business collaboration
We're partnering with the Green Business Network (GBN) to launch a new green business collaboration for our businesses.
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Thursday, 30 September 2021
We've partnered with the University of Bedfordshire to support local businesses
We've partnered with The University of Bedfordshire to support the Central Bedfordshire Productivity Programme, which aims to help local businesses.
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Wednesday, 22 September 2021
We're launching a support programme to aid internationally trading businesses, with Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce
As part of a wider business support programme, we're partnering with the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce to support businesses trading or wanting to trade internationally.
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Wednesday, 1 September 2021
Applications open for latest business grants scheme
Applications are open for Central Bedfordshire businesses to apply for the latest round of Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding.
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Wednesday, 1 September 2021
Local groups celebrate after grant success
Our grant scheme, which encourages local voluntary and community groups to apply for grants of up to £25K, has awarded £200,000 to twelve groups, following its latest bidding round.
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Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Boosting Central Bedfordshire’s businesses
We're working with Cranfield School of Management to create an innovative scholarship programme to support the growth of local businesses.
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Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Central Bedfordshire Council to launch further Additional Restrictions Grant scheme
We will be launching a further round of Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) this September, enabling more businesses to access grant funding.
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Tuesday, 3 August 2021
We're working with businesses to raise awareness of exploitation and domestic abuse
We've spent time visiting local businesses to raise awareness of drug dealing, its associated exploitation and domestic violence.
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Tuesday, 20 July 2021
New programme to help local businesses embrace sustainability
We're providing funding to The Green Business Network to help businesses manage overall environmental impact and have a sound knowledge of a range of sustainability-related issues.
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Friday, 11 June 2021
We've launched a business survey to review Stratton Business Park Local Development Order
We've launched a survey to capture the thoughts of local businesses on the Stratton Business Park in Biggleswade to feed into the review of the Stratton Business Park Local Development Order.
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Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Welcome Back Fund boost for local high streets
As part of the government’s £56 million Welcome Back Fund being issued to councils nationwide, we're being allocated £255,873 to help local high streets re-open and attract shoppers and tourists.
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Thursday, 20 May 2021
We're supporting English Tourism Week this month
We're backing national tourism board Visit England’s latest campaign – English Tourism Week – which starts on Saturday, by highlighting the range of visitor attractions people can enjoy.
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Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Biggleswade company fined more than £100K after worker seriously injured
A company based in Biggleswade has been fined over £100K after one of their warehouse workers was seriously injured.
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Monday, 12 April 2021
Leader urges residents to support local businesses, but safely
As the high streets and towns across our area start to reopen, Councillor Richard Wenham, the Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, is calling on residents with a message to ‘shop local’.
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Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Changes to Additional Restrictions Grant criteria
We've amended the eligibility criteria of our Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG2) to enable more businesses to apply for higher values of grant funding.
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Tuesday, 23 February 2021
New business grant scheme approved by Central Bedfordshire Council
Struggling businesses will be able to access further grants following approval of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG2) and the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open).
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Thursday, 10 December 2020
We've objected to removal of 28 BT payphones
Following the latest BT payphone consultation, we received 95 responses regarding BT’s proposals to remove 29 public payphones, that they have identified as unnecessary.
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Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Economic strategy takes another step forward
Our Executive Committee has unanimously agreed to recommend the draft economic strategy to Full Council for adoption and to underpin it with an annual intervention plan and progress report.
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Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Applications open for new business grant scheme
Online applications are now open for the new discretionary business support scheme (the Additional Restrictions Grant) aimed to support local businesses unable to access previous funding.
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Wednesday, 18 November 2020
New COVID-19 business support grant open for applications
Applications for the first of two new COVID-19 business support grants are now open.
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Tuesday, 6 October 2020
Oxford to Cambridge Arc: a global asset and national investment priority
The Oxford to Cambridge Arc has unveiled its bold vision in a prospectus that has been submitted to government.
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Friday, 25 September 2020
Council Leader's guide to spotting Covid-secure venues
Following stark warnings from the Chief Medical Officer and Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor that we face at least six more months of COVID-19 restrictions.
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Wednesday, 16 September 2020
We'd like your views on our economic strategy
We're developing an economic strategy that recognises the short-term impacts of COVID-19, but focuses on the longer-term direction for our local economy. We need your help!
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Tuesday, 15 September 2020
We've set out our carbon neutral sustainability plan
A major step forward in making us carbon neutral by 2030 was agreed by our Executive Committee (Monday 14 September) when it recommended the next full Council meeting adopt a new sustainability plan.
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Tuesday, 23 June 2020
Extended applications window for small business grants
The application deadline for our government-funded Small Business Discretionary Grant Scheme has been extended to Monday June 29.
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Friday, 5 June 2020
We're launching a Discretionary Grant Fund for small businesses
After a special meeting of our Executive, we're announcing that we'll be launching a Discretionary Grant Scheme on Monday June 8.