East West Rail blasted by Bedford residents at public meeting

It follows the shock revelation that 10 more properties, including the Dom Polski Club and Ashburnham Road Surgery, had been earmarked for demolition to reduce construction by up to three years.

And at the meeting, East West Rail chief executive David Hughes said he would not be looking at an alternative southern route, saying it was now a matter for the planning examination.

Bosses said they aimed to give residents an update on the plans, as Universal’s theme park plans had disrupted its timeline, leading to a nine-month gap in communication following its last non-statutory consultation.

And they said the company wanted to be ‘good neighbours’ and deliver ‘the best possible outcomes with the minimum disruption’.

Mr Hughes explained the additional properties set for demolition had initially been at risk. He said: “We worked very hard to take them out of the red line boundary and we’re really sorry that now having done further work we’ve realised we need to reinclude them.”

He added: “We have an obligation in law to minimise the amount of land that we take so all the time we’re trying to cut our cloth really thin to take absolutely what we think is the minimum amount of land that we need to construct the railway and the blunt reality is that Ashburnham Road we cut our cloth too thin last year and when we’ve done more work we’ve realised we’ve gone too skinny there and we need more space to be able to manage the construction of the station in a way that will also enable us to manage the disruption impact more effectively.”

Speaking about a southern route, he said: “I want to be really clear about this issue of the northern versus southern route because I know it’s a huge bone of contention and remains for some a major cause of contention but the reality is, and this is not going to be a welcome statement but I’m going to make it, the decision was taken in 2021 under the Johnson administration, it was confirmed in 2023 under the Sunak administration and it was reconfirmed by this government after it’s election last summer, and I have to be honest, I see no appetite on the part of government to revisit that decision.”

Brent Fielder, BFARe (Bedford For a Re Consultation) director and chair of Wilden Parish Council called previous consultations ‘deceitful’.

He said: “Beth West [former EWR CEO] promised us faithfully that she would look at our southern route, consider it, and give it to the government to consider. Guess what? She took our route away, she ignored that route, she got your engineers to do an analysis of a nonsensical line that everybody knew was a non-starter and after that every time the southern route was mentioned it was always said ‘oh we looked at that and it didn’t fit’. That was a complete lie.”

But when asked if he would do an ‘honest and valid analysis’ of the BFARe southern route, Mr Hughes replied: “The answer to your question is no, I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to commit to you to go away and do any more analysis on other options. I know it’s not what you want to hear. As I said, your objection of north versus south is something you will need to present at the planning examination.”

Mr Fielder hit back: “Your point-blank refusal to even ask the department [for transport] if you can put a few people on looking at a possible southern route condemns this town to be trash and it condemns hundreds of people to be made homeless.”

Councillor Nicola Gribble, portfolio holder for environment at Bedford Borough Council, said: “EWR’s behaviour in Bedford stands as a shocking example of how not to do a major infrastructure project.”

She said the announcement of the further demolitions ‘epitomises the appalling way’ it does business.

She said: “The proposed route through Bedford will devastate the town for years to come. It will destroy established neighbourhoods, displace residents and small businesses and even lead to the closure of a vital doctors’ surgery serving over 4,000 patients. This is not regeneration; it is reckless disruption masquerading as progress.

"This behaviour reflects a deep-rooted failure of accountability, transparency and respect for the community EWR claims to serve. When an organisation proceeds in this way, demolishing homes without justification, disregarding expert opinion and silencing local voices, how can anyone possibly trust EWR to act in the public interest?”

Meanwhile, Mr Hughes added that while East West Rail wasn’t planning further changes to impacted properties, he couldn’t rule it out.

He said: “I completely get that for many in Bedford, the prolonged uncertainty about East West Rail has been a matter of real concern. We get that. As we develop the design, which is the process we’re going through at the moment, we start to close down those areas of uncertainty. But I get for many in the room what I’m describing is more certainty over an outcome that is unwelcome.

“We want to be good neighbours and again I accept that many of you wish that we weren’t going to be your neighbours, but the reality is that we’ve got a 10-year process ahead of us to deliver this railway and we want to do that in a way that delivers the best possible outcomes for Bedford with the minimum disruption.”

Bosses spoke for around 40 minutes before MP Mohammad Yasin, chairing the meeting, asked them to wrap it up so people could have their questions answered – with the company facing heavy criticism over how it communicates with Bedford people.

Some residents spoke about how its helpline for impacted homeowners had been ‘switched off’ until just before the meeting.

And Mr Yasin asked: “The message is very clear from constituents, if my office is finding it difficult, obviously constituents are finding it even more difficult. Do you expect from East West Rail that after today’s meeting we’ll get answers to our questions when we write to you guys and also when my constituents get in touch?”

Natalie Wheble, external affairs director, responded: “I think it’s absolutely loud and clear around how you feel about our communications and that’s certainly something we are already looking to make sure that we do better at and I think we are listening and we are here tonight to really show that this is something we will be doing more regularly, coming out and speaking to you, and we’re absolutely committed to that.”

Mr Hughes added: “It is never our intent that important information about the scheme that is directly affecting homeowners, renters, businesses, we would never want people to hear about that on social media, that’s not the way we want to conduct business. Moving forward, we will try to make sure that doesn't happen.”

A You Said We Did report is due to be published this month, outlining how East West Rail has responded to feedback.

Meanwhile, if the Planning and Infrastructure Bill gets royal ascent, as expected this month, East West Rail would no longer be required to carry out a statutory consultation.

Instead, Ms Wheble said this would be "an opportunity to work with communities and stakeholders for a better level of engagement" because it could "speak to people as we progress through the scheme rather than waiting until the end".

She added that this engagement was likely to start early next year.

Addressing the audience, Bedford mayor Tom Wootton, who opposes the northern route, pledged to stand by Bedford residents.

He said: “Your council is here for you to help, and I commit the council now to be with these people who are going to be suffering and have real hardship for many years to come. I will do my absolute damndest to be with you all the way.”

> East West Rail say a video of the meeting will be uploaded in the coming days.