Mid Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

in Bedfordshire, England.

Creation

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local authorities in England and Wales carried out under the Local Government Act 1972. Mid Bedfordshire was formed by the amalgamation of five districts: * Ampthill Urban District * Biggleswade Urban District * Sandy Urban District * Ampthill Rural District * Biggleswade Rural District The new council continued to use the former offices of Ampthill Rural District Council and Biggleswade Rural District Council until 2006, when a new combined office was built at Priory House, Chicksands for £15million.

Civil parishes

Former Town Hall, Ampthill (geograph 6353286)

The district comprised the following

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

es: *

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

* Aspley Heath *

Arlesey Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station p ...

Astwick Astwick is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of the county town of Bedford. Its population is included within Stotfold civil parish. Geography Astwick is by t ...

* Aspley Guise * Battlesden *

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its e ...

(Town) *

Blunham Blunham is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about east of Bedford. At the 2011 census date its population was 946. The River Ivel forms the parish's eastern boundary in places and the Riv ...

* Brogborough *

Campton and Chicksands Campton and Chicksands is a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its main settlements are Campton and Chicksands Chicksands is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of ...

* Clifton * Clophill *

Cranfield Cranfield is a village and civil parish in the west of Bedfordshire, England, situated between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001. increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in Central Bedfordshire uni ...

* Dunton *

Edworth Edworth is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of the county town of Bedford. It sits just off the Great North Road (A1) between Baldock and Biggleswade. There ...

* Eversholt * Everton *

Eyeworth Eyeworth (also Eyworth) is a small, rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about east south-east of the county town of Bedford. Eyeworth had a population of 86 in 2001. Geog ...

* Flitton and Greenfield *

Flitwick Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a natur ...

* Gravenhurst * Harlington * Haynes * Henlow *

Henlow Camp Henlow Camp is a village in Bedfordshire, England. RAF Henlow was first established in the area during World War I. Henlow Camp as a civilian settlement has grown up around the station since this time. Though Henlow Camp is part of the Henlow c ...

Houghton Conquest Houghton Conquest is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of How End. History Historically in the hundred of Redbornestoke, the name of the villag ...

* Hulcote and Salford * Husborne Crawley * Langford * Lidlington * Marston Moretaine * Maulden * Milton Bryan * Meppershall * Moggerhanger * Millbrook *

Northill Northill is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about southeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for Northill village as 338 and for the civ ...

* Old Warden * Potsgrove * Potton * Pulloxhill * Ridgmont * Sandy (Town) * Shefford (Town) * Shillington * Silsoe * Southill *

Stondon Stondon is a civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the settlements of Lower Stondon and Upper Stondon. The name "Stondon" derives from the Saxon word meaning Stone Hill. The pa ...

Stotfold Stotfold is a small town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. Stotfold is thought to have gained its name from the northern drovers breaking their journey south at this point on the A1 Great North Road and penning their horses (stot ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

* Tempsford * Tingrith *

Westoning Westoning () is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located around south of the town of Flitwick. The River Flit flows behind the Westoning stud farm. History Dark and Middle Ages ;1086 The village is mentioned in the Do ...

* Woburn * Wrestlingworth and Cockayne Hatley

Elections and political control

The first election to Mid Bedfordshire District Council took place on 7 June 1973, with the 49 councillors elected forming a shadow authority until 1 April 1974. Following ward boundary changes, the number of councillors was increased to 53 in 1979. Elections for the whole council were then held in 1979 and every four years thereafter. In 2003 the wards were again redrawn, with the size of the council remaining at 53. The final election took place in 2007, with councillors staying in office until the abolition of the council in 2009. The first council elected had a large majority of

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

councillors. Gains by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in 1976 meant that the council was under no control, although independents remained the largest group. In 1979 Conservatives gained a majority, which they held for sixteen years. In 1995 there was a large swing against the unpopular government of John Major, and the Labour Party gained 17 seats to achieve parity with the Conservatives. The council also included Liberal Democrats and Independents. In 1999 the Conservatives regained control, which they held until the council's abolition. † New ward boundaries

Abolition

In 2006 the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...

considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the

2009 structural changes to local government in England Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a "two-tier" system of counties and districts. In five s ...

. On 6 March 2008 it was announced that Mid Bedfordshire would merge with the neighbouring district of

South Bedfordshire South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a gen ...

to form a new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

called

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfor ...

. The new council was formed on 1 April 2009 although its initial members were not elected until 4 June 2009.

References

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