Central Bedfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council, a unitary authority. It was created in 2009.

Formation

Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire County Council and all the district councils in the county were abolished and replaced by unitary authorities. The unitary authorities provide the services previously delivered by the district and county councils. Central Bedfordshire covers the area of the former Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire Districts.

The local authority is called Central Bedfordshire Council.

Central Bedfordshire
Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Parliamentary representation

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Central Bedfordshire would be split between five parliamentary constituencies:

Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (entirety)

Hitchin (part also in the District of North Hertfordshire)

Central Bedfordshire
Richard Kelly · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Luton South and South Bedfordshire (part)

Mid Bedfordshire (part)

North Bedfordshire (part)

Central Bedfordshire
Neil Theasby · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Towns and villages

Central Bedfordshire comprises a mix of market towns and rural villages. The largest town is Leighton Buzzard followed by Dunstable and Houghton Regis. Dunstable and Houghton Regis form part of the Luton/Dunstable urban area. Central Bedfordshire includes the following towns and villages.