Delays over transfer of linear wood and pocket park "unacceptable" says Biggleswade Town Council

A lengthy delay in completing land transfers of the Linear Wood and Saxon Gate pocket park in Biggleswade from one local authority to another have been labelled “really unacceptable” by a town councillor.

The hand over process for the two areas from Central Bedfordshire Council to the town council “has been under way for multiple years”, according to a report to BTC’s public land and open spaces committee.

“Officers met with CBC staff in early 2023, agreeing a 25-year heads of terms lease for each area after talks,” said the report. “Two joint site visits were held to understand the scale of the ongoing maintenance work and current status.

“BTC’s public realm manager has routinely returned to both sites to monitor conditions on the ground. CBC imposed a working deadline of June 30th last year for its legal team to provide the town council with the leases and associated papers.

“Officers remain in contact with CBC staff at a low level, who’ve told them repeatedly since July a further update is imminent. More senior officers have offered a similar pledge, without any progress.

“CBC officers have suggested the legal process is delaying the transfer, as all the other aspects have been agreed. Once CBC has shared the two draft leases, its officers continue to deliver works as per the maintenance schedule.

“They’ve noted that any extra town council stipulated works, such as the replacement of the concrete barrier, will be conducted on a ‘just in time basis’ upon signing the leases.

“The transfer of the 18-acre Linear Wood and Saxon Gate pocket park would add a significant environmental improvement to the town council’s span of control and boost the town’s Green Wheel.”

BTC’s head of governance and strategic partnerships Karim Hosseini said: “It appears there’s not been much progress. Behind the scenes, plenty of work has gone on around this.

“We’re waiting for CBC to forward the draft heads of leases. The town clerk was in touch recently. We’re still awaiting a response.

“I’ve contacted the interim head of assets at CBC to impress on them how important this transfer is, given the three-and-a-half years of negotiation.”

Town clerk Peter Tarrant explained: “This has been escalated to CBC’s director of place. It’s a clear sense of frustration.

“I’m aware the legal aspects connected to CBC are in part externalised, with some challenging times associated around that. There might be delay linked with this, rather than any internal mechanisms.

“If the director of place is unable to provide further clarification regarding timelines, I anticipate escalating it to CBC’s chief executive (Marcel Coiffait).”

Town councillor Duncan Strachan explained: “It’s almost seven months since a working deadline was imposed for draft heads of terms. This is really unacceptable. We want to move this on.”

The committee agreed a resolution stating: “This council is extremely concerned at the length of time taken to deliver the heads of terms from the CBC legal department to BTC. We ask senior officers and directors to escalate this as a matter of urgency.”