IN MY travels around Bedfordshire and its amazing businesses, I sometimes have to pinch myself. Is this really happening here and now?
For example, I recently visited the world-famous and iconic hangars at Cardington. Here a huge budget movie is being filmed. It is a fictional story, of course, but the facts are that the creation of many jobs is being enjoyed together with the injection of significant cash into the local economy. Over in Hangar One, the world’s largest aircraft is currently being prepared for its first proving flights in the UK.
Fiction? No, fact! Here at the historic home of the airship is the Airlander, a true leviathan of the skies with an ability to land almost anywhere and to fly for three weeks. Really? Yes, really!
One day London Luton Airport will expand dramatically, create thousands of new jobs and a great passenger experience. Surely fiction? No, it’s a fact. All approvals are in place and enabling work starts very soon. Look at the M1 junction 10A improvements which, when completed, open up a huge swathe of development land for employment and residential.
Definitely fact. The cones, diggers and effective traffic management prove it.
The old ugly 1960s Town Hall in Bedford will be removed and the town centre joined to the riverbank with exciting riverside developments. Not fiction nor aspiration but fact. I have seen the rapidly shrinking building.
So it goes on all around Bedfordshire – great infrastructure improvements, amazing innovative companies, growing employment and order books. It’s a fact. No need to pinch myself because it is there for all to see.
Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce members are well connected and enjoying good business times. Fact.
Finally, the politicians love us. Fact. At least for the next few months leading up to the election so we must take this great opportunity to make our case for the on-going business agenda priorities.
Enjoy the good times. They are set to last for quite a while. Fact.
