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Bedfordshire and Luton Economic Development Partnership (BLEDP)
Luton based entrepreneur, Derek Ludlow, who was awarded the MBE in the year 2000, has worked for many years to help boost industrial and commercial activity in the town and the county. He has also done a considerable amount for charities, in particular Macmillan Cancer Support and starting up the Macmillan Nurses involvement in Bedfordshire and the new Cancer Care Unit at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital. Derek Ludlow is Chairman and owner of the Ludlow Group of companies, which includes two major car accident repair bodyshops Frank Ludlow Ltd, which was started in 1975 and Premier Bodyshops Ltd, the largest repairer of Porsche cars in Britain which started in 1988; Ludlows of Luton Ltd – a distribution company of industrial paints and powders and welding wire and machinery; and Ludlow Hills – a small wine distribution company. He was chairman of the Luton Initiative committee, which promoted Luton’s image and coined the slogan ‘Luton’s Looking Up’. Derek was a President of the Chamber of Commerce in the mid 80’s. Out of this he initiated the development of the TEC Training Company and also the Chamber of Training. He was founder shareholder of Bedfordshire Cablevision, which went on to be taken over by ntl. He was a governor of the University of Luton for nine years. He was Chairman of the Development Board and from this came the idea for the Centre for Competitiveness which is a project he chairs and is working on. Currently, Derek is also Chairman of the Multi-Cultural Conference on Competitiveness and Enterprise, Member of the University Court, (now University of Bedfordshire), Chair of the new Scholarships & Bursaries Committee for the University of Bedfordshire, Member of the Learning and Skills Council and Member of the Beds Chamber Policy Council, Chartered Member of the Institute of Marketing (CIM), Vice President of the Luton Male Voice choir, Vice President of Luton Town Football Club and a Trustee of the Luton Museum Development Trust. He is Chair of Bedfordshire and Luton Economic Development Partnership (BLEDP) (the Sub Region of EEDA). Through his involvement he hopes to help bring together the Local Authorities, Higher Education Establishments, Business Advisers etc to boost the economy in Luton and Bedfordshire, to bring in wealth to the region and to create and promote a county to be proud of where new knowledge base and higher skills business can flourish and to very firmly put Luton and Bedfordshire on the map.