East West Rail plan for 900 Bedford parking spaces

Plans for 900 new parking spaces across three car parks in Bedford have been proposed as part of the East West Rail (EWR) project.

East West Rail Company (EWR Co) said 70% of the spaces would be to the east of Bedford station in a six-storey car park and a surface car park, both on Ashburnham Road.

The remaining spaces would be in a car park off Ford End Road.

David Hughes, EWR Co chief executive, said: "We believe these proposals strike the right balance for Bedford. It provides the parking capacity needed for a growing railway, while ensuring traffic is spread more evenly across the town."

The latest suggested design includes a ground-floor community hub and GP surgery.

EWR Co said it would work with Historic England on the design, which has evolved from the past two consultations.

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

Previously, EWR Co proposed an eight-storey car park accessed from Ashburnham Road on the site of the current station car park.

But there were concerns there would be too much traffic in one location and the car park would be too tall.

Earlier in the year, it proposed a 1,200-space multi-storey car park accessed from Ford End Road in Queen's Park, to the west of the current station.

But feedback suggested this could cause traffic issues in the Queen's Park area.

EWR Co believes the latest proposals address concerns about the size of the car park on Ashburnham Road, as well as reducing the amount of traffic crossing into Ford End Road.

Hughes said: "By making efficient use of land, it also helps create the conditions for investment and regeneration around the station — delivering the infrastructure passengers need today while supporting Bedford's ambitions for tomorrow."

A series of community drop-in events will be held in November for people to view the updated designs and discuss them with EWR Co.

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