Kempston Rural: Plans to build 300 homes "would more than double the size of our village"
Residents are objecting to plans for nearly 300 homes in land at Kempston Rural.
And they say the plans to build 295 homes off Wood End Lane and Home Road would more than double the size of the village.
Objections have already gone into Bedford Borough Council and a website has even been developed to help residents help and submit their objections.
The outline application – submitted by Bidwells on behalf of client Axis Land Partnerships – also includes open space, play areas and new accesses on to Home Road and Wood End Lane.
But residents are furious. One told the council: “Up to 295 dwellings would generate several hundred additional vehicle movements each day on to a rural road network that already carries traffic displaced from the wider strategic network and from recent housing growth around Kempston and Wootton.”
And they were concerned the development would “merge Gibraltar Corner, Wood End and Green End into a single continuous built mass, permanently eroding a settlement pattern that has characterised this parish for well over a century.”
Pressure on schools and GP surgeries was also raised as a potential issue.
Another objector believed there could be flood risks to the area.
While one resident raised the added Universal Resort development.
“The proposal would lead to a substantial increase in traffic on roads that are already heavily congested. This concern is heightened by the anticipated increase in visitors and traffic associated with the proposed Universal Studios development in the wider area, which is likely to place further pressure on local roads, services, and amenities,” the wrote.
You have until September 1 to have your say – the application is 26/01428/MAO.