Wixams railway station plans approved

Plans for Wixams new train station are still on track after planning was approved by Bedford Borough Council’s planning committee.

The committee voted in favour last night (February 20) without comments or questions about either planning application for the project.

However, councillor Graeme Coombes (Conservative, Wilshamstead) did address the committee as the ward councillor to support the applications.

He also put forward some recommendations to officers at the council’s transport and highways teams to address buses and car parking.

“I think it’s important that there is early engagement with the bus service providers, Stagecoach and Grant Palmer, to ensure that the bus services do actually connect with the station,” he said.

“It’s all well and good opening a new station in December 2024. But it is important that when this station opens that it has a bus service running to it.

“The bus service needs to be in place immediately.

“It’s an overused phrase – joined up thinking – but there really does need to be some joined up thinking to ensure that those services are ready on day one.

“I think we need to also as a council consider outside of the station area.

“As people will come from far and wide [to use the station] we need to consider how it will impact parking outside of the station area immediately outside the houses of residents.

“We know that the car park will charge a fee and any driver with any common sense would seek to park their car where they don’t have to pay,” he said.

“We need to ensure that there is a proper consideration of how people will be allowed to park, or not in my opinion, outside of the station because of the impact this will have on Wixams residents.”

Jon Shortland, the council’s chief officer for planning, infrastructure and economic growth, said: “Picking up on those two non-planning points, councillor Coombes – we are working with colleagues in the transport and highways section, both on bus routes and on parking regimes in the area around the station.

“So those points are certainly in our minds and on our agenda,” he said.

Planning applications for the station (and car park) and the platforms had to be submitted separately as the platforms are outside of the Wixams outline consent area.