Thousands of jobs are being created, or secured, in Bedford Borough thanks to inward investment from pension funds and international companies, heard those logging on to a Nat West Bank business meeting.
Patrick Lyons, Manager of Economic Growth and Development, who has worked at the council for 13 years, talked through the growth of business parks at Wootton, Kempston and Wixams as well as developments at places like Colworth near Sharnbrook.
Investors such as Goodman, Barwood Capital, L & Q, Turnstone, Cantor, Hampton Brook, Mulberry and London Metric have poured millions into buying land and developing units.
Hundreds if not thousands of new jobs are being created or secured at big business names likeB & M, Leidos, Whistle, Powervamp, Firmenich, Workstories, Richardson, Amazon, AF Blakemore, GrowPura, Unilever, Fujifilm, Aldi and Galaxy.
These range from entry level, to “high value” jobs. Patrick explained that Bedford sits amid the booming Oxford to Cambridge arc with good value housing and improving transport links which makes it attractive to investors and companies who also value the availability of skilled workers.
Bedford Borough Council is currently bidding through the Bedford Town Deal for millions to reinvigorate the town centre, which like many others is suffering from changes in shopping habits. That application goes in to the Government in October.
In the meantime, to combat the challenges of Covid-19, the council was continuing to offer Government grants and other help to SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) such as the Kickstart fund for specialist equipment.
This is not to be confused with the very new Government Kickstarter employment scheme for young people. Other employment support can be accessed through projects like the ALPHA scheme where companies can receive funds if they take on a graduate.
Further information can be found on bedford.gov.uk
