Bedford: Crystallising prospects

Economic growth has been and remains a top priority for Bedford. An Economic Theme Group supports the Local Strategic Partnership, businesses are engaged through a Bedford Development Agency and a Chamber Bedford Business Group and a recently strengthened Council Economic Development Unit works closely with property and planning colleagues.

Connectivity continues to transform the area. Dualling between Bedford and the A1 has been recently completed, with dualling between Bedford and the M1 (Junction 13) due to complete in 2010 and a new Bedford Western Bypass, two new railway stations and a new bus station on the way. The new main Bedford (railway) Station is also due for completion in 2010.

While Bedford has not been immune to the recession, there are some interesting developments that can positively be reported on. Most notable perhaps is the recently completed Castle Quay development in the heart of Bedford’s Cultural Quarter. Led by developers Complex Development Projects, with architect Burrell Foley Fischer and contractor SDC of Bedford, this £20m mixed use development won a top award at the 2009 Homes and Communities Agency Academy Awards and has already seen seven out of eight retail units with terms agreed and moving towards occupation, with over 100 of the 108 appartments now gone.

Recently completed and presenting a rather special opportunity to snap up some top quality office accommodation is a single occupier focussed HQ facility just south of Bedford off the A421 at Stewartby. Built to exacting environmental standards and close to Bedford’s impressively improving strategic road network, this HQ building will be a fantastic package for the right business.

Brewing nicely
Famous for its brewing and pubs, Bedford’s Wells and Young’s Brewing Company and Charles Wells Pub Company are going from strength to strength with Gold and Grand Gold awards for Wells Bombardier, Young’s Special London Ale and Cobra Beer, a further 31 tenanted pubs recently acquired and the unprecedented double accolade of Pub Company of the Year and Tenanted/Leased Pub of the Year (The White Horse in Bedford) at The Publican Awards – the ‘Oscars’ of the national pub trade).

More success can be found in Bedford renewal projects. In addition to the Castle Quay, Bedford Cultural Quarter development, the renewal of other major Bedford Town Centre quarters has moved forward. The £200m Town Centre West scheme including a department store, a food store, 40 retail units, restaurants, bars, a cinema, hotel, 300 or so homes, a car park and a new bus station, has planning permission and land assembly is ongoing. Renewal of Bedford’s Station Quarter, including a new station, office and possible hotel developments, a transport interchange and car parking, is also progressing, with the first phase being the redevelopment of the station itself currently at design stage and due to complete by the end of 2010.

Meanwhile to the north-west of Bedford, developments are also progressing. Skelton Group Investments has recently been granted planning permission for a £150m data centre at its Twinwoods Business Park. Most famous for its former airfield being the departure point of Glenn Miller’s ill-fated final flight, Twinwoods hosts this unusual, exceptionally powered, former MoD research facility now operating as Twinwoods Business Park. The data centre will be developed by TRE Global UK, a subsidiary of a leading US-based data centre company. The centre will directly employ 50 people with more in support services, and it is expected to attract other high tech businesses to Twinwoods – already home to, among others, a Red Bull Racing Team research centre and the Bodyflight adrenalin leisure facility.

Just across the A6 north of Bedford, exciting new developments at Colworth Science Park should start on site this autumn, with a new Innovation Centre and a state-of-the-art Discovery Centre. With Cambridge and Cranfield Universities plus the Institute for Food Research establishing a presence on the site as part of the project, the new (and existing) accommodation will provide top quality space for continuing growth in the number of knowledge based businesses on site alongside the anchor presence of Unilever’s food, health and wellness research facility.

The future
With the dualling of the final section of the A421 between the M1 and the A1 just south of Bedford moving forward the exciting development prospects are crystallising in this innovation corridor.

A number of sites for business along the corridor have already seen some take up such as GPark, The Wixams business area and Interchange Park, all just south of Bedford.

GPark is a high quality park already hosting an Asda logistics base, with some 12ha still available to accommodate additional manufacturing or distribution operations from 4,000 sq m to 25,000sq m. The park has direct access to the Bedford Southern Bypass (A421). The Wixams has a major quality employment area of some 18ha of land available within a new settlement of some 5,000 homes. It additionally includes a prominent and exclusive 3ha ‘island’ site for B1/R&D premises and an existing industrial estate undergoing a substantial upgrade to provide new high-spec industrial or warehouse units.

Other sites are expected to be developed soon and more sites along the corridor will be in prospect later this year/early next as local planning processes move forward. These developments could ultimately more than double the current business area footprint of the corridor taking it up to around 500ha. Taking forward this concept in the short term will be the following sites which have planning permission and which all benefit from the excellent connectivity provided by the A421. Interchange Business Park is a 3.5ha green field site with outline consent and indicative plans suggesting some seven office, industrial or other commercial properties of around 2,000sq m. Coronation Business Park meanwhile is a vacant site of about 4ha, with indicative plans suggesting 10 office units of up to 1100sq m and 15 industrial units of up to 2,800sq m.

Finally, and far from least given its landmark status, is former Cardington Airship Shed No.1. This exceptional space of some 20,000sq m of floor area (and nearly 50m height) has a range of possible uses, though it is currently awaiting restoration through a S106 agreement associated with an adjoining housing development. While Shed No.1 has recently been used for airship development work and music rehearsal space, the neighbouring Shed No. 2 has been used as a film studio by Warner Bros for a number of recent major films.

Visit Invest in Bedford: www.investinbedford.com. To sign up to the Economic Growth in Bedford bulletin: www.economicgrowth.org. Contact Paul Vann, Economic Development Manager Tel: 0123 422 8064 or email: paul.vann@bedford.gov.uk.