• Bedford Borough Council have received £154k to help local high street reopen and attract shoppers.
• This money comes on top of £1m Towns Fund and £1.76m High Streets Heritage Action Zone grant that Bedford has received to help revive high street.
• This is part of a wider package of measures to revitalise high streets and level up communities – including steps to make it easier for eateries to serve customers outdoors and set up market stalls this Summer.

Bedford Borough have received £154k from the Government’s Welcome Back Fund to help Bedford successfully reopen after lockdown.

The Conservative group welcome this new boost from the Government following previous grants of £1m from the Towns Fund and £1.76m from Historic England which has now brought up the total support that Bedford Borough Council has received up to nearly £3m.

We want Bedford Borough Council to make good use of this money, producing a safe reopening environment that will revitalise and reinvigorate the town centre whilst supporting Bedford’s businesses.

Commenting, Bedford Borough Council Conservative Deputy Group Leader Cllr Roger Rigby said:

“The £154k boost from the Welcome Back Fund for Bedford is very welcome, this will help Bedford reopen safely and I hope provide initiatives to encourage people to visit Bedford again.

Two uses of this funding should be to provide three hours of free parking at multi-storey car parks every day for the next three months and to give our market traders free pitches for the first three months to re-establish the market. These 2 initiatives alone will support the reopening of the town centre and cost the borough nothing. ”