Bedford councillors asked to reconsider support for East West Rail route which will "have a devastating effect on the environment"

During the Full Council Meeting (Wednesday, November 27), the chair of Clapham Parish Council, Phillipa Simms, said: “The clearly narrow-minded decision by the council back in 2021 will have a disastrous impact on Clapham for decades to come.

“We are the only village on the route that is actually being dissected by the line, which will have a devastating effect on the environment.

“However, I’m not surprised that this is of no concern to those councillors who voted in support of Route E the time,” she said.

Ms Simms said council data shows only a “minute financial benefit” by bringing the route through the centre of Bedford.

“It was deemed to be worse for the rest of us outside of the urban area,” she said.

“So will those councillors who are happy to put their support for Route E on record at the time [Ms Simms listed the councillors] reconsider their position. They have to accept that any financial gain to the town will be offset by the amount of tax payers money that will be needed for flood management in Clapham alone. Let alone the rest of my fellow parishes in North Beds.”

Although Ms Simms provided a list of councillors she said voted in support of Route E, she singled out councillors Vann, Meader and McMurdo for a response.

Councillor Henry Vann (De Parys), the leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said his group supports the concept of East West Rail, which he said will be “beneficial” to the whole borough.

“The risk of a route that doesn’t go through Bedford town centre is one that initially goes in and then reverses out, and then eventually bypasses Bedford altogether,” he said.

“And we will once again have the cost and the impact of a railway being built without the benefits of its stopping in our borough. It’s really important that any negative impact on residents or neighbourhoods, on communities right across the borough are minimised

“We need to lobby really consistently and really forcefully and turn up to every meeting and meet more regularly with East West Rail Company to represent residents concerns,” he said.

The leader of the Labour Group, councillor Carl Meader (Kempston South) said his group’s position hasn’t changed since 2021, which is “a need” for an east-west rail link.

“Which will provide great connectivity and potentially reduce the number of vehicles on our roads,” he said.

“We strongly oppose the demolition of homes,” he added.

“All effort must be made to mitigate any environmental impact of construction. The Labour Group certainly haven’t stopped listening. We will review our position after the statutory consultation.”

Councillor Doug McMurdo (Independent, Sharnbrook) reminded everyone that he is the “group leader of one”.

“Yes, I am on record, as you rightly say with supporting the route,” he said. “And that is predominantly from a base case of the economic benefit.

“But I think your question, if I have the correct way, is more around flooding. I think this administration needs to do a little bit better and more in respect of flood alleviation and risk to people and property.

“I will say that there are some engineering projects up and down the country that actually deal with flood plains.

“You picked up that the [Environment Agency] EA say that anything that occurs [on flood plains] must mitigate any risk. If that is verbatim I think that’s actually not correct and they should go further in today’s climate, it should be betterment.

“So you have my full support in respect of any flood alleviation, it’s not about mitigating it, it’s getting betterment,” he said.

Ms Simms said: “Village flood groups are manned by volunteers, by residents giving their time to help others. However, there is only so much that we can expect from volunteers.

“Therefore, at what cost is this council prepared to continue to support Route E?” she asked.

East West Rail’s current non-statutory consultation documentation includes supporting documents – a technical report, an environmental update report, and a transport update report.

In a statement, East West Rail said the consultation aims to obtain “feedback on the early designs, including areas where we are still considering options”.

“Feedback from the consultation will be taken into account as the designs are further developed and preferred options chosen.”

It closes on January 24, 2025, and a series of public drop-in and online events are being held.

The next Bedford event is tomorrow (November 30) at The Grand Hall (Bedford Sixth Form) between 12pm and 5pm.