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Q: What is Renaissance Bedford?
A: Renaissance Bedford is an informal partnership established in May 2005 by local partners and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Renaissance Bedford's goal is to help drive forward the delivery of new houses, additional jobs and essential infrastructure in the Bedford and North Central Bedfordshire Area. The Bedford Growth area falls within the Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) sub-regional growth area, and is also within the East of England region, and subject to planning decisions at regional level through Regional Spatial Strategy for the region.
Q: How does Renaissance Bedford work?
A: Renaissance Bedford is governed by a board comprising representatives from the local authorities, together with representatives from the other sectors, including the private sector, that have a key role in delivering new development and infrastructure. These include organisations and agencies involved in health, housing, town centre development, the press and media, local business, and central government agencies. Our core revenue and support funding is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government via the Homes and Communities Agency. We also receive funding for individual projects from EEDA and Bedford Borough Council.
Our Board meetings are open to the public and press, and reports and minutes are published on this website
. We are audited by Bedford Borough Council and work in an open and transparent way to ensure proper scrutiny of all our activities.
Q: Why has Renaissance Bedford been formed?
A: All the local authorities and key agencies based here recognise the need for an independent body to ensure that the planned growth of the Bedford and North Central Bedfordshire Area is implemented in a co-ordinated and sustainable way. The partnership is intended to provide added value to the work of the existing agencies operating in the Growth Area and when necessary, to challenge their performance and delivery of key projects or programmes. The partnership cannot carry out all the necessary tasks itself and will be reliant on its partners to do much of the day to day work of delivery on the ground. However it is responsible for developing an overall vision for the Growth area, through a long term Growth Prospectus, and for holding partners to account, through the board.
The partnerships’ three key ‘added value’ roles in delivery can be described as being:
• Managing transformational projects
• Removing blockages to delivery
• Kick starting and facilitating new initiatives
Here are some examples:
Managing transformational projects:
• Develop a Long term Growth Prospectus
• Establish Urban Design Panel for the Growth Area
• Develop new brands for different sectors
• Adopt a marketing strategy for the Growth Area
• Masterplan Bedford Railway Station Quarter
Removing blockages to delivery:
• Bus Drop Off facility on Ford End Road, feasibility and costing study
• Risk Registers set up for the major housing and employment developments
• Housing Delivery Trajectories started
• Better partnership working arrangements
Kick starting and/or facilitating new initiatives:
• Chairing Shortstown Community Liaison Framework
• Helping to develop a Project Management Protocol for all the major housing and employment developments
• Wixams Station infrastructure project
• EEDA Wyboston employment site delivery
Q: What are Renaissance Bedford's priorities?
A: Renaissance Bedford’s over-riding priority is to ensure that the growth strategy for the Bedford Growth Area is delivered on the ground. It is also to make sure the growth takes place and is managed in a way that provides balanced communities with good schools, community, leisure and cultural facilities, delivers the essential transport and utilities infrastructure, and provides homes that people can afford to rent, or buy.
More specifically, our priorities are:
Driving the delivery of the key housing commitments, totalling 19,500 dwellings by 2021;
Delivering employment growth of up to 19,500 additional jobs by 2021, through an enhanced inward investment drive focused on the Growth area;
Ensuring that all the essential infrastructure needed to support and create sustainable communities in the future is put in place at the right time.
Q: What specific projects are Renaissance Bedford involved in?
A: So far we have become involved in a wide range of projects. We have become key players in the project management of the Bedford Western Bypass; started a similar process of project management of the Wixams Station infrastructure project and for the delivery of an EEDA owned employment site at Wyboston; and have kick started a community liaison framework with community leaders and Bellway Homes for the approved Shortstown housing scheme of up to 1,200 houses near Cardington.
We have helped to secure major capital and other funding from DCLG totaling over £11 million for Bedford through Growth Area Fund Round 2, for the period up to March 2008, including monies for the masterplanning of a new Bedford Railway Station Quarter; enhancements to Bedford Museum and the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery; an archaeology park and new housing at the Castle Lane Cultural Quarter, and new housing and community facilities at the Church Lane neighbourhood centre, in Goldington ward.
We also develop realistic housing delivery trajectories for all the major housing developments, with market intelligence built into those trajectories.
Q: What are the forums Renaissance Bedford has created and how can I take part in them?
A: We have established two important forums, or sounding boards made up of key local stakeholders to network and discuss key current or emerging issues in the growth area and get feedback on what those stakeholders consider needs to be done to make progress with the delivery of housing, jobs and infrastructure.
The two forums which we have already set up are the firstly one for all the Landowners and Development industry who operate here, and secondly a forum for all the Infrastructure agencies who operate in and around Bedford. Both meet on a quarterly basis before the board meetings, and their views can then be fed back to the board.
There are a number of other existing forum which deal firstly with public art, culture, and the creative industries (HAPPEN), and secondly the delivery of green infrastructure (The Bedfordshire and Luton Green Infrastructure Consortium). It is not intended to duplicate these, but to work with them when required.
Q: Does Renaissance Bedford have any statutory powers?
A: No. We are not a statutory body and do not have powers to make planning policies or determine planning applications – that is not our job. All planning powers remain with Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council. Our role is to cut across organisational boundaries, seek to overcome barriers to delivery, and to facilitate significant progress in delivering the approved growth strategy for Bedford and the surrounding area.
Q: How can I contact Renaissance Bedford?
A: Please contact us if you would like more information or would like to give us your feedback or comments.
To contact us by email click here.
Tel: 01234 440050
Fax: 01234 272689
Renaissance Bedford
Salamander House
2-10 St John’s Street
Bedford
MK42 0DH
For directions to the Renaissance Bedford office please go to the Get in touch page