Bedford High Street works move to overnight following talks with businesses

Work on the next phase of the High Street development is being carried out overnight.

After talks with businesses and restaurants in the area, the decision has been made to work from 8pm to 5am.

And it's expected it will be completed by the end of October.

The works - on the east of St Paul’s Square - began on Sunday (September 19).

The pavement will be widened, infrastructure works will also be carried out with new traffic signals being installed.

The widened footpath will also be finished with the York stone paving now in place on the High Street, creating a matching attractive look across this area of the town centre.

Cllr Charles Royden, portfolio holder for highways, said: “We recognise that overnight works may cause some noise disturbance overnight, and we apologise for that.

"The council and our contractor on this project, Henderson and Taylor, have done a letter drop to all businesses and residents providing information and out of hours contact details, and the noisiest elements such as slab cutting will be done before midnight and behind an enclosed zone to reduce the noise."

This work is part of Transporting Bedford, a project to tackle congestion hotspots in Bedford, funded by both Bedford Borough Council and £15.5 million funding from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP).