Following the Borough Council’s statement to the press concerning the proposed route of the East West Railway, in which the council confirmed that there is no need to demolish any houses if only four railway tracks are used.
The Conservative members of Bedford Borough Council have welcomed the council’s late attempt to prevent the destruction of homes in the Poets area of the town.
EWR’s preferred option was always to have six lines north of Bedford and their plans, dating from 2018 show clearly what they intended and the reasons for it.
Great Barford Councillor Stephen Moon said: “The question the Mayor must answer is whether in supporting the route chosen he knew of EWR’s plans, in which case he ignored the plight of the residents affected, or whether he was unaware of the plans, in which case he was negligent.
“We have difficulty in understanding how he could have been unaware of the plans as he or his representatives had several meetings with EWR before deciding to support the route and throughout his colleague Cllr Headley was a member of the EWR Consortium Strategic Board.
“We remain opposed to the route chosen and believe that the failure by the Mayor to make his choice a matter of public debate has led to this potential disaster for Poets’ residents.”
