Mayor Dave unveils ambitious town centre restoration plans

The former Goldings building on Bedford High Street has been restored to its former glory as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone restoration programme. The scaffolding has come down to reveal brilliant gold lettering and the iconic Goldings logo painted on the building.

This comes after Bedford Borough Council had more positive discussions with the owners of the former Beales and Debenham sites in the town centre about future regeneration plans.

One of the companies that owns one of the properties said "We have high hopes for Bedford and it is a real positive that there is such an ambitious administration keen to engage with us in these early stages." The Mayes Yard site could potentially become a culture, entertainment and leisure hub full of smaller retail and hospitality units as well as residential spaces on the upper floors.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "I'm very excited by the potential in Mayes Yard and we will continue to work with property owners so that we can get the best outcome for the town centre.

"The restoration of the Goldings building looks fantastic, and it is a great addition to the town centre. We have already delivered the fantastic Riverside development, Allhallows regeneration and the new wider pavements on the High Street.

"We are continuing to deliver more building restorations as well as the regeneration project on Midland Road. Through the High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme the Council has helped to restore a number of buildings including Blue Monk and Sundaes Gelato, with many more works in progress. We are ambitious for Bedford Borough, including the town centre which we will continue to develop."