Council leader meets with housing minister over Tempsford new town concerns

The pair exchanged letters initially, with Independent Potton councillor Zerny asking to meet the minister, and former Labour leader of Stevenage Borough Council, for clarity over the government’s attitude towards the idea.

A think tank, UKDayOne, suggested Tempsford and the surrounding area might be an ideal location for a new town. It could be “larger than Oxford or Cambridge and comparable to the largest postwar new towns”.

Tempsford could be “a major employment centre, especially in life sciences, helping to relieve the acute shortages of laboratory space in Cambridge, London and Oxford,” said UKDayOne’s research.

In a social media post, councillor Zerny revealed: “We spoke about Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire and planning in general.

“I highlighted concerns about large scale development at Tempsford, particularly the rumours of it being a proposed site for a new town.

“And I took the opportunity to show the minister some recent drone footage of the extent of the floods locally. I mentioned how this flooding is occurring more frequently and there would be a severe impact if the government endorsed large scale developments on land around the flood plain.

“The minister took this on board and agreed to feed these comments back to the task force looking at new towns.”

Councillor Zerny also raised concerns about needing the government to take a more active role in supporting local authorities by ensuring the required infrastructure is provided by big developments come. This includes the schools, roads, leisure centres, healthcare facilities and parks, he explained.

These are covered by Section 106 developer contributions or payments to the local authority to be spent on the area in question to mitigate against the impact of a project. “They can go towards providing schools, surgeries, roads, sports and leisure facilities, buses and footpaths,” said councillor Zerny.

“But those sums of money aren’t always big enough, while councils can’t ask for much from smaller schemes. I told the minister the government must do more to support local authorities and ensure our residents get the amenities they need, and she agreed how important that infrastructure is.

“Central Bedfordshire is eager to work closely with the government. But I’ve told both its housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, and the minister it must be on our terms and in the interests of local people.

“Our area has good transport connections, with potentially more on the way through East West Rail. There’s the possibility of a major (Universal Studios) theme park nearby, attracting more new roads and rail links.

“It’s important to remember many of us live here not just for the travel network, but because of the beautiful countryside and this mustn’t be forgotten when it comes to new housing,” he added.

“Conversations have been productive and I’m certain there’ll be further meetings. However, it’s no surprise the government isn’t making any promises about local development at this stage.“