Plans for a new primary school in Village 3, with four classes for each year group, were debated at a meeting of the Wixams Joint Development Control Committee on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Stuart Kemp, planning officer at Central Bedfordshire Council, told the committee that the school building will be mostly two storeys and will have 30 classrooms, a sports hall, office provision, two sports pitches and three multi-use games areas.
Councillor Graeme Coombes (Bedford Borough Council) said he was supporting the application.
But he said: “The one thing that I would like to raise and this was the point that came up at the Wixams Parish Council last week, is that we have three existing schools in the Bedford borough part in my ward and none of them have a crossing outside.
“[This is] not relevant to this application, it is nonetheless an important part of the whole thing.
“I’m not sure whether a crossing would go in the Central Beds part or the Bedford borough part, but I think it is essential that this is looked at as an early issue to handle if the school is opening before the rest of the town centre.
“Therefore I would just like to get an assurance from officers that looking at a safe place for children to cross is high on the agenda, assuming that this application is passed, ” he said.
Johnathan Warner, principal planning officer from Bedford Borough Council, said: “Discussions are taking place with L&Q Estates as master developer to look at crossing points to serve the town centre, along with discussions about the station, so they will be delivered.
“It will be separate from this reserved matters application.”
Councillor Rebecca Hares (Central Bedfordshire Council) requested that the pedestrian crossing be available for the children on the school’s opening day.
“We can’t guarantee that L&Q Estates will deliver at the same time, but we are using best endeavours, and we are in discussions with the master developer to provide those and discussions are positive,” Warner said.
The committee voted to approve planning permission and added a note for the need of a crossing being in place when the school opens.
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Adrian Clack, managing director of L&Q Estates, said: “Ensuring that the proposed Wixams
development is delivered in a safe and considerate manner is a key priority for L&Q Estates.
“As such, we have been in discussions with both Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council regarding changes to various aspects of the road network – including around the new school in Wixams Village 3 – which will still very much be a live construction site at the time of the school opening.
“Part of those discussions have included provision for numerous zebra crossing points around the ‘squareabout’ junction adjacent to the school, as well as on Meadow Road and Fisherswood Road, in addition to other measures such as traffic calming and safe locations for bus stops and lay-bys.
“These discussions have culminated in the production of a revised reserved matters pack of proposals, which will be submitted to both authorities by May 2023, and L&Q Estates will endeavour to work with the school to provide safe crossing points as appropriate in the area.”
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