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End of an Era
After a third of a century (33 years) of promoting cycling and campaigning for high quality cycle infrastructure in Bedford it is the
‘End of an Era’ for cycling campaign group CCNB (Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire).
It all began following the actions of the January 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. One of the programmes developed was ’Agenda 21’ a blueprint for global action to be taken for a transition to a sustainable future with actions to be taken at a local level to be known as
‘Local Agenda 21 .
In the July Bedford Borough Council published a ‘State of the Environment’ report. This listed all the organisations interested in the environment but there was no mention of cycling.
Hazel Mitchell, a cyclist and Bedford Borough Councillor concerned with the environment and climate change organised a public meeting in the September for those residents interested in cycling and the environment. At the meeting it was decided unanimously to establish a group which later became CCNB with the vision to see Bedford as a
‘Town of Cyclists’ and ‘Cycle Friendly Communities’
Over the following years CCNB published a number of cycle route books and pamphlets including a cycle map for Bedford and Kempston and promoted cycling through numerous leaflets and booklets.
It also had regular meetings with both the Borough and County Councils (the latter until its demise) and others and a stand at many local events.
In 2004 is was given a ‘Benchmark’ by the government’s English Regions Cycling Development Group’s benchmarking project team as an
‘Empowered Campaign Group’
for its success working with local authorities and producing clear Cycle Maps and other publications.
CCNB conducted regular counts in the town centre which showed a progressive rise of more than 50% from 2006 to 2018 when due to fines being imposed on cycling through the pedestrianised town centre numbers fell sharply. Further falls followed due to the closure of several large stores and the onset of Covid-19. Numbers have remained low to this date.
Similar counts at Bedford railway station gave an increase of nearly 90% from 2006 until the lockdowns due to Covid-19 in 2020 but have now started to increase as people start to commute again.
Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire has had successes and disappointments over the past 33 years but would like to think that overall it has contributed to keeping cycling on the map.
In the meantime a new committee has been formed and it is hoped that it will continue to promote and campaign for cycling as
Cycle Bedford .
Encouraging more people to ride a bike will not only help in its small way to reduce climate change due to toxic air pollution predominantly from fossil fueled traffic but also help to reduce obesity due to inactivity both of which are responsible for many diseases and premature deaths.
We wish everybody a Happy 2016. Please tart or keep cycling and above all keep safe.
CCNB 2025 AGM
The 2025 AGM was be held on Wednesday 18 June 2025 at Friends Meeting House, 5 Lansdowne Road, Bedford, MK40 2BY at 7.30pm.
The event marked the end of an era, one third of a century of cycle campaigning in Bedford from 1992 to today.The chair, secretary and treasurer stood down. There were no takers from those attending but there has been several potential people who would like to help keep the group funtioning who were unable to attend. A meeting with these people will be held shortly.
The AGM was preceded by a presentation on a short history of CCNB by Peter Blakeman.
-Why Cycle?
"At CCNB's AGM in June 2024 the following presentation was given on "Why Cycle?"
Cycling UK's five-year strategy (2024-29)
Cycling UK have laaaaunched (in June 2024) their five-year strategy for 22024 to 2029 via the following short video.
The vdeo sets out how we aim to create happier, healthier and greener lives through cycling
* Our vision: happier, healthier and greener lives through cycling.
*Our mission: We enable and inspire people from all backgrounds and abilities to experience cycling’s joys and benefits. We speak up for all who cycle to make sure it’s a safe and easy choice for everyone to travel, explore and have fun. Our charity works with diverse partners to maximise our impact.
Our purpose: We improve lives, places and the planet through cycling’s remarkable benefits. We are powered by our heritage and expertise, and the passion of our staff, supporters and volunteers.
15-Minute Cities
The Bedford Independent online newspaper on 3 March published an interesting article called'Opinion: 15-minute ities? Yes, please (see here)
CCNB responded by saying that it need not be a dream.
Bedford has always been a ‘Town of Cyclists’ in the top quartile of UK towns and is already a 15 minute town with cyclists able to reach the town centre from nearly all residential areas within this timeframe.
The Bedford and Kempston urban area is fairly compact and, with the exception of the Manton Heights area, is reasonably flat and ideal for cycling.
The urban area has an extensive reasonably safe 150km cycle network started in the 1950s made up of off-road dual use paths, quiet (mainly 20mph) residential roads and cycle lanes along busier roads with a number of routes reaching surrounding villages to make a great cycling experience.
Cycle (and pedestrian) safety is ensured by an exceptionally high number of controlled road crossing points:
• 75 Signal controlled toucan crossings for cyclists and pedestrians
• 2 signal controlled pegasus crossings for horses, cyclists and pedestrians
• 11 parallel crossings for cyclists and pedestrians
• 40 puffin/pelican and numerous zebra crossings which cyclists can use to safely walk across.
Yes - there still some major gaps – Bromham Road railway bridge, High Street cycle contraflow and A6/A421 junction – and some sections which require bringing up to the latest cycle infrastructure guidelines.
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