East West Rail car park relocation plans opposed

A council has opposed plans to move a proposed multi‑storey car park to another location as part of the East West Rail (EWR) project.

Bedford Borough Council passed the motion at its full council meeting on Wednesday after receiving a petition with 692 signatures.

EWR said moving the car park from the east to the west of Bedford station would reduce the visual impact on nearby residents.

Conservative elected mayor Tom Wootton said the motion was "good ammunition to fire" at EWR during the council's next meeting with the organisation.

The East West Rail project will link Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and Bedford.

EWR had initially proposed an eight-storey car park accessed from Ashburnham Road to the east of the station.

However, its latest plan had the multi-storey accessed from Ford End Road in Queen's Park, to the west of the station.

At Wednesday's meeting, Nasreen Akhtar, a Labour councillor in Queen's Park ward, said the car park's new proposed location would risk "serious congestion" and called on the council to oppose it unless EWR agree to putting fully-funded traffic management measures in place.

Councillor Mohammed Masud added that residents were "already fed up with congestion in the area" and 600 further properties were proposed nearby.

Wootton said he was pleased to see the motion as "it gives us good ammunition to fire at them at our next meeting".

He added: "East West Rail are very difficult to deal with... our views and representations are not listened to."

The motion opposing the structure's relocation was passed unanimously.

Natalie Wheble from the East West Railway Company said: "Relocating the proposed new multi-storey car park to Ford End Road from Ashburnham Road will reduce the visual impact for those residents who live close to the station.

"[It] also complements our more ambitious plans to redevelop Bedford station, which will ensure the station can deliver the much-needed extra capacity to meet rising passenger demands."

She added that the company continues to hold regular meetings with Bedford Borough Council and would be holding design update sessions in Bedford later this month.

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