Mid Bedfordshire District

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 £15{{nbsp}}million.{{citation|url=https://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityHistories/Chicksands/PrioryHouseChicksands.aspx |title=Priory House, Chicksands |date=21 June 2019 |access-date=6 August 2021 |publisher=Bedfordshire Archives}}{{cite news |title=Moving story |url=https://www.thecomet.net/news/moving-story-7686756 |access-date=2 April 2022 |work=The Comet |agency=Archant |date=20 July 2006 |quote=The building opens to the public on Monday, August 7.}}

File:12 Dunstable Street, Ampthill (October 2023).jpg

The district comprised the following civil parishes:{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20014067.htm |title=The District of Mid Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 |access-date=17 March 2009 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |year=2001 }}

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• Ampthill
• Aspley Heath
• Arlesey
• Astwick
• Aspley Guise
• Battlesden
• Biggleswade (Town)
• Blunham
• Brogborough
• Campton and Chicksands
• Clifton
• Clophill
• Cranfield
• Dunton
• Edworth
• Eversholt
• Everton
• Eyeworth
• Flitton and Greenfield

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• Flitwick
• Gravenhurst
• Harlington
• Haynes
• Henlow
• Henlow Camp
• Houghton Conquest
• Hulcote and Salford
• Husborne Crawley
• Langford
• Lidlington
• Marston Moretaine
• Maulden
• Milton Bryan
• Meppershall
• Moggerhanger
• Millbrook
• Northill
• Old Warden

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• Potsgrove
• Potton
• Pulloxhill
• Ridgmont
• Sandy (Town)
• Shefford (Town)
• Shillington
• Silsoe
• Southill
• Stondon
• Stotfold
• Sutton
• Tempsford
• Tingrith
• Westoning
• Woburn
• Wrestlingworth and Cockayne Hatley

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{{see also|Mid Bedfordshire District Council elections}}

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.{{citation|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwA-5RleSBydakdEcHd2dVJOOUU/view?usp=sharing |title=District level Authority Results.xlsx |website=www.electionscentre.co.uk|access-date=15 May 2017|publisher=The Elections Centre, Plymouth University}} 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 councillors.{{cite news |title=Final poll result may lie with Independents |work=The Times |date=8 June 1973 }} Gains by the Conservatives in 1976 meant that the council was under no control, although independents remained the largest group.{{cite news |title=Heavy Labour losses in district polls |work=The Times |date=8 May 1976 }} In 1979 Conservatives gained a majority, which they held for sixteen years.{{cite book |title=Whitaker's Almanack 1980 |year=1980 |publisher=Joseph Whitaker |location=London |isbn=085021114X }} 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.{{cite news |title=Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections |work=The Times |page=10 |date=6 May 1995 }} In 1999 the Conservatives regained control, which they held until the council's abolition.{{cite news |title=How Britain voted: Council Election Results |work=The Independent |page=12 |date=8 May 1999 }}

† New ward boundaries

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. On 6 March 2008 it was announced that Mid Bedfordshire would merge with the neighbouring district of South Bedfordshire to form a new unitary authority called Central Bedfordshire. The new council was formed on 1 April 2009 although its initial members were not elected until 4 June 2009.{{citation|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/714230 |title=Unitary solution confirmed for Bedfordshire – New flagship unitary councils approved for Cheshire|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081122073630/http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/714230 |date=22 November 2008|website=www.communities.gov.uk|publisher=Department for Communities and Local Government| url-status =dead|archive-date=22 November 2008 }}

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{{Local government districts of England abolished in 2009}}

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Category:Local government in Bedfordshire

Category:Populated places in Bedfordshire

Category:Former non-metropolitan districts of Bedfordshire

Category:English districts abolished in 2009

Category:Central Bedfordshire District

Category:1974 establishments in England

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