Portas Pilot Bid Success for Bedford

There was good news for Bedford on Saturday, when our Town Centre was picked as one of the twelve 'Portas Pilots' following on from Mary Portas's review of the British High Street. I wrote on here recently of the innovation and drive, such as that of our wide range of independent traders and the volunteer group We Are Bedford, which is helping Bedford to fight back against the prevailing trends facing Britain's town centres. This passion for making our town more vibrant and attractive clearly shone through in the application, and gives Bedford the chance to build on the partnership work going on already and to harness the enthusiasm and creativity which is in abundance locally.

The bid was put together by the 'Town Team' which was created in response to the Portas Review. The Town Team is a partnership of groups, individuals and businesses who are committed to working together to improve the town. The group includes Bedford Business Improvement District (BID), We Are Bedford, Bedford Borough Council, Bedford College and individual retailers. Congratulations is due to everyone involved in pulling the bid together. Congratulations also to the Bedford College students who worked on the video which accompanied the bid. The amount of money which comes in from the Govnerment will be modest in relation to the task of making a real impact on the town centre, however the real impact will come from the partnership it has helped to foster and the commitment of everyone involved to make a positive difference for Bedford Town Centre.