Plans for Wixams new railway station are still on track after planning was approved by Bedford Borough Council’s planning committee.
The committee voted in favour on Monday, February 20, 2023, without comments or questions about either planning application for the project.
However, Cllr Graeme Coombes 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 am delighted Councillors have tonight approved plans for Wixams Station. This is the latest step in a long and tortuous journey to ensure that Wixams residents get the station that they were always promised.
“It’s now imperative that as well as getting on with the construction of the station, the Council acts immediately to ensure we have bus services linking the station to the wider community, to avoid additional and unnecessary car journeys.
“I also want to see a controlled parking scheme in place immediately outside the station zone, so that residents living nearby aren’t plagued by on street parking congestion by drivers trying to avoid using the designated station car park.
After 11 years of delay to Wixams Station, it looks as though at long last we are getting nearer to the scheduled completion date of December 2024. I just hope that when the station opens, the trains are more punctual!”
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.
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