Central Bedfordshire

Local Authority District in England

Bedfordshire, East of England

§ This page gives an overview of the Central Bedfordshire local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ Central Bedfordshire covers a large area of countryside, market towns, and commuter settlements. Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard are the main towns, with attractions such as Whipsnade Zoo and the Grand Union Canal. The Chiltern Hills AONB provides scenic landscapes, while Ampthill, Biggleswade, and Flitwick add historic market town character. The district is defined by its rolling countryside, chalk hills, and wide mix of rural and suburban communities.

The administrative boundary of Central Bedfordshire can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Central Bedfordshire.

Map of Central Bedfordshire — Administrative Boundary of Central Bedfordshire (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about Central Bedfordshire

What region is Central Bedfordshire in? Central Bedfordshire is in the East of England of England, a region within the UK.

What county is Central Bedfordshire in? Central Bedfordshire is in the county of Bedfordshire.

Is Central Bedfordshire a city? No, Central Bedfordshire is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs Central Bedfordshire? The local government for this district is: Central Bedfordshire Council (Unitary Authority).

▶ Official website of Central Bedfordshire Council 🔗 centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Which police force covers Central Bedfordshire? Policing in Central Bedfordshire is provided by Bedfordshire Police 🔗 beds.police.uk, which serves 3 local authority districts: Bedford ⁞ Central Bedfordshire ⁞ Luton.

Central Bedfordshire in International Geographies

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Central Bedfordshire is an ITLs Level 3 area:

(ITL 1) East of England
(ITL 2) ⇒ Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Central Bedfordshire

The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.

This district page, Central Bedfordshire, is a sub-page of this county page: Bedfordshire and this region page: East of England. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in Central Bedfordshire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire is divided into 31 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

Ampthill
Arlesey & Fairfield
Aspley & Woburn
Barton-le-Clay & Silsoe
Biggleswade East
Biggleswade West
Caddington
Clifton, Henlow & Langford
Cranfield & Marston Moretaine
Dunstable Central
Dunstable East
Dunstable North
Dunstable South
Dunstable West
Eaton Bray
Flitwick
Heath & Reach
Houghton Conquest & Haynes
Houghton Regis East
Houghton Regis West
Leighton-Linslade North
Leighton-Linslade South
Leighton-Linslade West
Meppershall & Shillington
Northill
Potton
Sandy
Shefford
Stotfold
Toddington
Westoning, Flitton & Greenfield

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Parishes in Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire is fully parished: 79 civil parishes, listed A-Z below.

Ampthill
Arlesey
Aspley Guise
Aspley Heath
Astwick
Barton-le-Clay
Battlesden
Biggleswade
Billington
Blunham
Brogborough
Caddington
Campton and Chicksands
Chalgrave
Chalton
Clifton
Clophill
Cranfield
Dunstable
Dunton
Eaton Bray
Edworth
Eggington
Eversholt
Everton
Eyeworth
Fairfield
Flitton and Greenfield
Flitwick
Gravenhurst
Harlington
Haynes
Heath and Reach
Henlow
Hockliffe
Houghton Conquest
Houghton Regis
Hulcote and Salford
Husborne Crawley
Hyde
Kensworth
Langford
Leighton-Linslade
Lidlington
Marston Moreteyne
Maulden
Meppershall
Millbrook
Milton Bryan
Moggerhanger
Northill
Old Warden
Potsgrove
Potton
Pulloxhill
Ridgmont
Sandy
Shefford
Shillington
Silsoe
Slip End
Southill
Stanbridge
Steppingley
Stondon
Stotfold
Streatley
Studham
Sundon
Sutton
Tempsford
Tilsworth
Tingrith
Toddington
Totternhoe
Westoning
Whipsnade
Woburn
Wrestlingworth and Cockayne Hatley

A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.

Built-up Areas in Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire covers 76 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

Ampthill
Apsley End *
Arlesey
Aspley Guise *
Barton-le-Clay
Beeston (Central Bedfordshire)
Biggleswade
Billington (Central Bedfordshire)
Blunham
Brogborough
Broom (Central Bedfordshire)
Caddington
Campton
Chalton
Chicksands
Clifton (Central Bedfordshire)
Clophill
Cranfield
Dunstable
Dunton
Eaton Bray and Edlesborough *
Flitton
Flitwick
Great Barford *
Greenfield (Central Bedfordshire)
Harlington
Harpenden *
Haynes *
Heath and Reach
Henlow
Hockliffe
Holwell (North Hertfordshire) *
Holywell (Central Bedfordshire)
Houghton Conquest
Houghton Regis *
Ickwell
Kensworth
Langford (Central Bedfordshire)
Leighton Buzzard *
Letchworth *
Lidlington
Lower Stondon *
Luton *
Marston Moretaine
Maulden
Meppershall
Milton Keynes *
Moggerhanger
Northill
Oldhill Wood
Potton
Pulloxhill
Ridgmont
Sandy
Shefford
Shillington
Silsoe
Slip End *
Southill
Stanbridge
Stewartby *
Stotfold *
Streatley (Central Bedfordshire)
Tebworth
Tempsford
Tilsworth
Toddington
Totternhoe
Upper Caldecote
Upper Gravenhurst
Westoning
Wixams *
Woburn
Woburn Sands *
Wootton (Bedford) *
Wrestlingworth

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Central Bedfordshire.)

Central Bedfordshire compared with other districts in the UK

This section shows how Central Bedfordshire compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.

Central Bedfordshire has 31 electoral wards.

Central Bedfordshire compared with other districts — ▮ Smaller: 294 ▮ Similar: 15 ▮ Larger: 52 (compared with 361 districts)

Central Bedfordshire has a population of 315,877 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)

Population of Central Bedfordshire compared with other districts — Population of Central Bedfordshire, compared with other districts in England and Wales

More local statistics and data for Central Bedfordshire can be found on the ONS statistics for Central Bedfordshire.