About the Vision 

Why do we need a vision?

Central Bedfordshire is a great place to live and work. We want this to continue for future generations. But this won’t happen by accident. Locations become great places to live and work because members of these communities share a clear vision of how they want them to be and have bold, well-thought out long-term plan. 

That’s why we 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.

Who has shaped the vision?

The Vision is a shared vision and was created in collaboration with others. We brought together residents, businesses, partners, utilities providers and public sector bodies to set out their views about the future. The Vision has been co-created to determine what is important and right for Central Bedfordshire, a Vision that paints the type of place we all want Central Bedfordshire to be. 

The process of building the Vision has been iterative, with stakeholders learning and creating together. 

You can read more about how we developed the Vision on Our Approach to page. Alternatively, you can read the full Vision document (PDF).