Nine Out Of Ten Back Central Beds

Thousands of Mid Bedfordshire residents have voted in a local poll to support the creation of a Central Bedfordshire Unitary Council as part of the Government’s proposed re-organisation of local government.

At the time of writing over 10,000 people had returned cards sent out by the local district councils with 8740 (or 86%) voting for Central Beds and only 1,301 (13%) voting for Bedfordshire County Council’s rival bid. Only 175 (1%) supported the status quo.

Mid and South Beds District Councils propose merging to form a unitary council in support of Bedford Borough’s popular bid to become a unitary council on its current boundaries. The Government’s consultation on this bid closes on 22 June and an announcement on whether it is successful is expected by the end of July.

Cllr Ken Matthews, Mid Beds’ Deputy Leader, said: “We wanted everybody in the area to have their say on the future of local government so we sent every home and business in the district a leaflet with a voting card attached. The response has been fantastic and I’d like to thank everyone who has returned these cards.

“Some people think that if Bedford Borough’s bid was successful then the rest of the county could carry on alone. But the Government confirmed that a two-tier system is not viable for the rest of the county. So the status quo is not an option.

“I am extremely pleased that so many people have supported this plan to merge with South Beds and create a new Central Bedfordshire Unitary Council which will provide both ours and the county council’s services.

“The Government makes great play of bringing democracy back to local people, well that’s what we’ve done. I hope they have the courage to walk the talk and listen to what local people say about the kind of council they want in Bedfordshire.

“It’s up to them now to show they are as responsive as we are to local views.”