Central Bedfordshire
Unitary Authority
Shown within Bedfordshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East of England
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire
Founded	1 April 2009
Admin. HQ	Chicksands
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	Central Bedfordshire Council
• Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
• Executive:	Independent (council NOC)
• MPs:	Richard Fuller (C) Nadine Dorries (C) Andrew Selous (C)
Area
• Total	276.3 sq mi (715.7 km2)
• Rank	53rd
Population  (2021)
• Total	294,252
• Rank	Ranked 48th
• Density	1,100/sq mi (410/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code	00KC (ONS) E06000056 (GSS)
Ethnicity	97.3% White
Website	centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. 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. The Bedfordshire County Council and all the district councils in the county were abolished, with new unitary authorities created providing the services which had been previously delivered by both the district and county councils. Central Bedfordshire was created covering the area of the former Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire Districts.^[1][2]

The local authority is called Central Bedfordshire Council.

Towns and villages

Map of wards within Central Bedfordshire

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.