Why locate in Mid Beds?

Mid Beds provides the ideal place to live, work and run a business. A broad swathe of countryside contains towns and villages of great character and is at the heart of the high technology oxford2cambridge arc. The District is ideally located for business and provides easy access to ports, airports and much of the rest of the country by road and rail. 

World class high technology companies are well established and flourishing in Mid Beds, and the District offers a wealth of opportunities to start or expand a business, relocate from other parts of the country or from overseas.

Emerging small businesses are well catered for within the District and can rent spaces in our managed Acorn Units at Biggleswade whose terms are designed to be as flexible as possible to meet the needs of businesses in the early years of their existence. Find out more about this service.

Larger companies can take advantage of a wide variety of sites in the District. Mid Beds District Council help firms find premises by maintaining a Land and Property Register which can be accessed through this website. 

Mid Bedfordshire – THE place to do business 

The Mid Beds economy offers the ideal place for high technology companies to start or grow, as it lies in the centre of the oxford2cambridge arc, the UK's most premium high technology region. The District houses the prestigious Cranfield University, truly a world leader in research and development and a centre of excellence in aerospace, biotechnology, materials, management and many others. Cranfield’s Innovation Centre offers companies the opportunity to take full advantage of this enviable facility.

Mid Beds is a superb location for business. It has more than half the population of the UK within two hours’ drive. The District is well served by transport links and has both the M1 and A1, as well as excellent rail links to London, Peterborough, Newcastle and on into Scotland. The District is also close to Cambridge in the East and Milton Keynes and Oxford in the West. The ports of Harwich and Felixstowe are accessible by road as are the airports of Luton and Stansted, providing access to Europe and beyond.

The mix of rural villages and small market towns provides a high quality of life, and excellent schools make Mid Beds an ideal place for family living. In recent years, each of the District’s towns have undergone enhancement schemes and investment to make them excellent places to shop, eat out and to live. Mid Beds District Council has helped retailers wherever possible and encouraged all retail sectors within the community to think about a sustainable future.

The District is also well catered for with sports and leisure facilities, from showpiece golf courses at Woburn and plenty of public courses throughout the district. There are leisure centres at both Flitwick and Biggleswade, the latter boasting a state of the art swimming pool. The District also provides an ideal location for cycling with miles of country lanes as well as the Thatcher’s Way, a cycle route covering Mid Beds and running into Bedford.

All of these reasons make Mid Beds an ideal location to live, work and do business, and why companies such as the Kier Group, Jordans Cereals and Millbrook Proving Ground have chosen to locate in the District.

Mid Beds District Council places a great emphasis on the economy of the District, and employs a dedicated and proactive Economic Development Team to provide practical help, guidance and support for new and established businesses. Working with a network of other agencies and partners, both local and regional, they can help gain grants, establish networks and introduce suppliers.

The Economic Development Team should be the first port of call for anyone looking to start, expand or relocate a business within the District. If you require help, guidance or practical advice, please telephone 08458 495 465. Alternatively, please e-mail econ.dev@midbeds.gov.uk