Demolition of Another Town Eyesore Welcome - Mayor Dave

Mayor Dave Hodgson has welcomed the commencement this week of the demolition of the infamous former Charles King Ford buildings on the Broadway in Bedford Town Centre. The works precede development of the site as extra care housing (flats adapted to help enable older people to live independently).

Commenting, Mayor Dave Hodgson said: "It's great to see that the owners of the site have got demolition underway. This is a prominent location in Bedford, and the work to clear the derelict, unsightly buildings in order that redevelopment can follow is not a moment too soon."

The demolition follows a series of demolition and development works at high profile eyesores in and around Bedford in recent years. These include the regeneration of much of the long-derelict former Camford Works site on Ampthill Road in Bedford as a new Morrison's supermarket, the demolition of the former Town Hall Office Block to make way for a large riverside public square and the development of a brand new Bedford Bus Station after decades of false dawns and dashed hopes for the much-maligned former facility.