Welcome to wixams.town, a community website for the development of Wixams in Bedfordshire. This website is managed by the Wixams Community Group as a portal for finding out information about the development itself and news about planning applications as they’re released. There are more resources to be added to this website in due course but below you can find out some of the more recent news about Wixams below.
This site used to belong to the Wixams Residents Group, however the group was closed down in April. You can read more about the group and that decision here.
Wixams S106 Application Guidance
You should have received a letter from your council about a planning application seeking to change the planned sports, recreation, play and community facilities on the Wixams development. This letter is to notify you that Urban&Civic, the master developers for Wixams, have submitted their latest proposals to modify the S106 agreement for Wixams. This is the 4th round of public consultation on these proposals and we have published guidance to help you understand what is being proposed.
The developers are now proposing to retain some facilities and have added a skatepark and a dedicated basketball court. It is recommended that you support this application.
Read more and respond to the application:
Free Parkour Event – 29th May
You may remember that after the Crime & ASB Wixams Residents’ Meeting last year, the Police and Crime Commissioner set up a “Forward Planning Meeting” to try and tackle the issues raised by residents at the meeting. This led to the Wixams Youth Working Group which meets monthly, managed by the Community Safety Team and Bedford Borough Council.
During the Easter holidays the group put together a very successful free skatepark event. For this school half term they have organised parkour event. It will be held on Thursday 29th May at Wixams Academy, from 2 to 5 pm. It’s free to attend, there is a limit on how many kids can attend at once but no booking is needed so just turn up!
Planning Application: Land At Bedford Road Wixams
A planning application has been submitted to Bedford Borough Council seeking permission to build a residential development of up to 375 homes on a site south of Wixams and adjacent to the A6. A new roundabout would be constructed on the A6 to provide access to the development. The site is within Wilstead Parish but the development would be part of Wixams town.
Read more:
School Zebra Crossings Finally Installed!
We now have two brand new zebra crossings in Wixams near to our schools, one on Green Lane and the other on Brooklands Avenue. There are two more crossings planned for the 2025-26 financial year too.
Read more:
www.wixams.town/2024/12/school-zebra-crossings-finally-installed
Dominoes Pizza Application Rejected
Some news that will be welcomed by many residents, the application to convert the old Portu Gallos unit into a takeaway submitted by Dominoes was rejected by the planning officer at Bedford Borough Council under delegated powers.
From the planning officers decision report:
3. CONCLUSIONS
The addition of a takeaway use adjacent to an existing takeaway use in a small neighbourhood centre of three units, when also considering that the area is already experiencing anti-social behaviour and nuisance issues, would, in all likelihood, increase the risk of anti-social behaviour incidents taking place. This would be to the detriment of neighbouring amenity and would give rise to disturbance to neighbours and the surrounding community and as such, it is considered that the proposal fails to accord with criteria iii and iv of Policy 32 of the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 and Paragraph 96 (b) of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Moreover, the development proposal has not demonstrated adequate availability of car parking provision to meet the associated parking demand. The development could therefore result in additional demand for on-street parking which would be contrary to highway safety and the free flow of traffic along the highway. The application therefore fails to accord with the guidance set out within the Application No : 24/01705/FUL Council’s Parking Standards for Sustainable Communities: Design and Good Practice Supplementary Planning Document (2014) and Policy 31 (i) of the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030. There are no material considerations which indicate the application should be determined otherwise than in accordance with the development plan. Therefore, it is recommended that the application is refused.
S106 Application Rejected by WJDCC
The proposal to change the S106 agreement on sports and leisure facilities was rejected by the Wixams Joint Development Control Committee on 23rd October.
The plans were not popular with the community and we have updated our guidance page with more information about the meeting:
Wixams Residents’ Meeting – 3rd September – Crime & ASB
The last residents’ meeting was held in September and we welcomed the Police & Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire and Inspector Russell Goldsmith who leads the policing team which covers Wixams. A full write-up is on the page below, including details of the outcomes from the meeting:
www.wixams.town/2024/08/residents-meeting-sept-2024
Wixams Residents’ Meeting – May
We held a public meeting on Tuesday 28th May and we have put together a full write-up with updates on:
- Town centre plans
- Doctors surgery
- Railway station
- S106 agreement application
- Green Lane parking restrictions proposal