Plans submitted for 508 new homes a care home and drive-thru coffee shop in Bedford

A planning application has been submitted for 508 apartments, a 96-bed care home and a drive-thru coffee shop on land next to the Morrisons and Aldi supermarkets on Bedford's Ampthill Road.

If approved, the redevelopment of the former Krupp Camford Works will see the 508 new homes – comprising one, two and three-bedroom apartments – share a series of seven separate buildings, varying from five to eight storeys.

The application said the apartments will be 430 units at full market rate, and 78 (15 per cent) will be affordable housing.

Access to the site will be via an extension of the existing Morrisons service road.

The applicants said the proposal will also offer access to an existing 30 space staff car park for the adjacent school.

The site, which has been vacant since 2000, comprises an irregular shaped parcel of land, which, the application said, extends to 7.11 hectares in size.

The applicants said that due to the site’s location at the edge of Bedford town centre, it is within easy reach of key services and facilities including bus stops, train stations, schools and medical facilities.

Policy HOU3 of the council’s Draft Local Plan 2040 states: “Land at the former Camford Works and Technology House on Ampthill Road, Bedford will be developed for a mix of residential and business uses.”

The applicants said this development will bring a large area of previously developed land back into use, contribute to the housing needs of the borough, and provide “much needed affordable housing”.

More information can be found on the council’s planning portal, reference 22/01899/EIA.

The overall consultation expiry date is Monday, October 31.

Applying for planning permission

To apply for planning permission, applicants must go through the LPA via the local council.

If the project needs planning permission and you do the work without getting it, you can be served an ‘enforcement notice’ ordering you to undo all the changes you have made.

You’ll probably need planning permission if you want to: build something new, make a major change to your building, such as building an extension or change the use of your building.