Working for Central Bedfordshire Council
Central Bedfordshire – a great place
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the heart of Bedfordshire, home to 315,900 people living in picturesque villages, historic hamlets, and vibrant market towns.
Our vision is simple: to make Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.
Well connected by the A1 and M1, three main rail lines, and international airports at Luton and Stansted, we’re just 35 minutes from London – close enough to benefit from the capital’s opportunities but without the pressures of city living. Positioned between Oxford and Cambridge, we are also at the centre of the east–west corridor, working with partners to unlock regional and national ambitions for growth.
Innovation, growth and quality of life
We are proud to host world-class innovation assets such as Cranfield University, Millbrook Proving Ground, and leading global manufacturers, alongside a thriving network of small and micro-businesses.
Our residents and visitors enjoy outstanding natural capital too – from Greensand Country to the Chilterns - giving us a quality of life that is the envy of many other areas.
Central Bedfordshire is prosperous and growing, with high levels of employment. But we also recognise that some communities face greater challenges and need extra support. All of this means our residents expect – and deserve – ambitious, forward-looking services from their council, both today and for the future.
Join a council with purpose
At Central Bedfordshire Council, we play a vital role in shaping place and community. We’re a modern, ambitious organisation delivering innovative projects and high-quality services to help residents thrive. Just as we want the best for our communities, we want the best for our people. We value our team, offering different ways of working for many (such as flexible and hybrid), wellbeing programmes, and opportunities to grow professionally. Collaboration, diversity, and recognition are central to how we work.
Central Bedfordshire is a great place to live and work, for everyone.
We have achieved a stable and sustainable financial position with a robust plan to maintain our financial stability in the years to come. Since its formation in 2009, the Council has delivered savings of £220M and we continuously review how we work to ensure we are as efficient as possible.
We requested a Corporate Peer Challenge from the Local Government Association (LGA) which took place in September 2023 which was a very positive experience. To read the report in full please click the link at the bottom of this page.
Our organisational change programme is about driving council-wide success. Led by our Chief Executive and Directors, this agenda aims to make Central Bedfordshire Council increasingly customer centric, responsive and delivery focused.
We benefit from a talented, ambitious and dedicated workforce and we are keen to empower staff and allow them to reach their potential as they help the whole organisation reach its own.
Along with delivering efficiency targets, we are committed to not lose sight of our ambition to be a modern council that understands and adapts to the changing needs of our residents, communities and businesses to deliver great outcomes that enable our people and places to flourish.
The local elections in May 2023 brought significant change to Central Bedfordshire Council. We are now the first Independent led Unitary in the country.
Having previously been a Conservative majority since its inception, Central Bedfordshire does not currently have a party with a majority. This isn’t unusual, lots of councils are 'hung councils'. What is unique is that the largest party is the Independents. They have formed an administration – the Executive.
Overview and Scrutiny Committees are chaired by Members from different political parties, this was a conscious decision by the new administration.
Our Vision For 2050
Central Bedfordshire is a great place to live and work, now and in 2050.
As we move toward 2050, we know that some things will change, and others will stay the same. The Vision seeks to build on the core strengths that Central Bedfordshire as a place has, what makes it attractive, what can be done to enhance it further.
Vision 2050 is a vision shared by partners and has four themes.
See our dedicated Central Bedfordshire 2050 website for more information.
We have engaged with hundreds of Central Bedfordshire residents, businesses and organisations, asking them to imagine what the world will be like in 30 years’ time and how they want Central Bedfordshire to be in the future.
As we move toward 2050 we know that some things will change, and others will stay the same. The Vision seeks to build on the core strengths that Central Bedfordshire as a place has, what makes it attractive, what can be done to enhance it further.
The process of its development explored how healthy and sustainable communities can be built, in the context of future opportunities and challenges such as technology, digitisation, climate change, water resilience, changing demographic and economic trends.
A shared Vision for Central Bedfordshire 2050 is a statement of our aspirations for our place, people and the economy, which improves the lives of all our residents, communities and businesses.
Our Strategic Plan 2024-2027
The new Strategic Plan will set the direction of the Council; influencing decisions, how Council resources are allocated and the Council’s attitude to public finances. It will be monitored through regular reports to the Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Our core aims
We will:
Get the right homes in the right places and ensure housing growth and infrastructure are carefully considered.
Be ambitious in our plans towards improving and maintaining the roads and travel network.
Ensure that environmental, sustainability and climate resilience impact will be at the heart of all Council decision-making.
Create opportunities for all children and young people to reach their full potential.
Enable people to live active, healthy, and independent lives.
Enable the right care, at the right time, in the right place for those in need of support.
Provide the environment for economic prosperity in which existing businesses can grow and new ones will move to the area.
Read more about our strategic plan.
Our Values
Central Bedfordshire Council is a modern, ambitious authority with a clear vision for the future. We strive to deliver high-quality services, make a real difference to residents’ lives, and invest in our communities. We achieve this by living our values and principles and focusing on the key priorities, outlined below.
Our values
Our values underpin and inform everything that we do. They guide how we interact with people, both internally and externally. They act as a shared code of conduct, setting out how we work with each other and with others. Our values connect us under one set of shared goals, language, and behaviours, underpinning and informing everything that we do at the Council. They describe the type of organisation we want to be and guide us in achieving our vision.
Our values are:
Together - We succeed by working collaboratively, making the best use of our resources, avoiding duplication and aligning our efforts.
Empowering - Everyone has a contribution to make. We encourage everyone to share ideas and challenge how we do things.
Ambitious – We focus on delivering meaningful results to make a difference for our residents and communities.
Mutual respect – We value diversity and treat everyone with fairness and dignity. Everyone is valued.
Our priorities
We focus on five key outcomes:
creating opportunities for rewarding work, to address the challenges faced by more and more of our residents in work poverty
delivering quality housing, to meet the growing need, including affordable housing, where needed, for our residents
enabling people to live their best lives, and supporting people to be independent, ensuring that we keep focused on improving health and wellbeing and supporting independent living
improving educational achievement and progress, to improve social mobility and the life chances for all
making the best use of resources, working efficiently and having the most positive impact on our residents' lives