A new Chair has been elected by the Board members of Bedford Business Improvement District.

Samantha Laycock is the Manager at the Harpur Centre and has been a volunteer board member for five years and brings to her new role extensive experience in working with town centre businesses.

As well as taking day to day charge of the Harpur Centre in Bedford Sam also manages St Benedict’s Court Huntingdon and is a Director of ‘Huntingdon First’  BID.

“I am delighted to be elected Chair of the BID. Being a Bedford born and bred person I am totally committed to keeping our town at the heart of our community. Here at the Harpur Centre we have national High Street brands which bring in huge numbers of shoppers who can then visit our independents. A mix of retail, service and entertainments are needed in the town centre and we think the BID is the way to help them all work together.”

*Sam’s office is in the high tower at the heritage frontage of the Harpur Centre - giving her overview of the busiest area of the town centre.

The Harpur Centre boasts over 8 Million visitors per year stopping off Primark, Pandora, Greggs and small locally-owned businesses like Price-Check and the Harpur Coffee Shop. 

Bedford Business Improvement District represents 550 levy-paying businesses. Board members are all volunteers who support the BID team which includes full-time Director Christina Rowe and the team of Bluecaps.