The town centre was given a business boost on Sunday July 24th with the first ever Love Bedford Day.

Offering free fun for all the family, on a day when town centre parking is free all day, the event included hilarious historical shows, circus performers and stands by local businesses. On parade were the Love Bedford Bluecaps who are employed by the Business Improvement District (BID) to act as greeters and information-givers to visitors all year round.

BedfordBID Director Christina Rowe said: “We positioned our Love Bedford Day right in the town centre and a week after the massive Bedford River Festival to keep a tide of people coming in throughout the summer. It was a great day and a boost for businesses as Sunday is now the most popular retail day in UK and we want people to think of coming into Bedford where the biggest and best are open and we have the advantage of all day free parking courtesy of the council.”

The mission of the Business Improvement District is to attract new customers to town. A levy paid by those in the “BID zone” is managed by a board of businesses. The result has been: Bedford continues to buck the trend with year on year increases in footfall compared to similar town centres. BID funds are not to finance projects otherwise provided by the local authority from council tax or Business Rates, but to support addition flag-waving and improvement activities.