Funding for GP surgery approved after 16-year wait

12 December 2025

Amy Holmes,Bedfordshire political reporterand

John Guinn,Local Democracy reporter

News image — The 3,000 home development at Wixams is also waiting for a railway station to be finished, more than 20 years after outline planning permission was originally approved.

Ant Saddington/BBC An aerial shot of the new Wixams railway station that is currently being built. You can see the railway line that is already there on the right hand side of the picture, and then the station development in the middle of the picture. In the top left hand side of the screen you can see some of the houses on the development. — The 3,000 home development at Wixams is also waiting for a railway station to be finished, more than 20 years after outline planning permission was originally approved.

Funding for a GP surgery has been approved for a town development where people have been living without one for 16 years.

Bedford Borough Council has given the green light for a business plan to build one at Wixams and allocated £5m from its capital budget for the project.

At the moment, half of the residents in its 3,000 homes have to make a 14-mile round trip to Ampthill to see a doctor.

It was only a year ago that they were warned they may have to wait 10 more years for a surgery to be built, but now a 900 sq metre building with 50 parking spaces on Loverose Way could open in early 2029.

Bedford Conservatives A picture of man in front of a sign with plans for Wixams railway station. He is standing to the left of the sign and is wearing a black jacket with a black jumper underneath. He is wearing brown glasses and has short hair. — Conservative councillor Graeme Coombes said some residents faced five to six-hour bus journeys to see a doctor in Ampthill

That warning was part of a report from NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB) which said that "in excess of £5.5m Section 106 (S106) funding has been secured in principle towards the new facility" - but added it "would not be available for an estimated five to 10 years".

At the time, the ICB said discussions were "underway between them and both Bedford and Central Bedfordshire Councils around any potential to accelerate delivery of a facility in the context of significant financial constraints."

The ICB was approached for comment after this latest update.

However at a meeting of Bedford Borough Council's executive, councillors have now approved funds.

More than £4m of the cash required is expected to come from Community Infrastructure Levy payments - a charge levied by local authorities on most new developments to fund projects like schools, transport, and green spaces.

The rest will come from the ICB and S106 money, which is a legal agreement where developers contribute funds to local authorities.

Conservative councillor Graeme Coombes, representing Wixams and Wilstead, told the meeting that some residents faced five to six-hour bus journeys to see a doctor in Ampthill.

He said he had been campaigning on the issue since 2011 and thanked people living on the development for "holding our feet to the fire and making sure this gets ultimately delivered".

The project could now move into detailed design and planning stages in 2026, with construction scheduled from early 2027 to autumn 2028.

People living in Wixams have also been waiting for a railway station to be built, more than 20 years after outline planning application was originally approved for it.

A station could open as early as next year, however it could also be expanded to meet the needs of the proposed Universal theme park nearby.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.