The planning applications for most of the town centre and for the remaining open spaces in Wixams have now been submitted to Bedford Borough and Central Beds councils and are open for public comment. The deadline for responses is 31st July.
This page is part of three pages related to the town centre and open spaces applications:
- Overview page (this page) – Shows all the applications in a table including links to the planning portals and guidance on how to respond to the application.
- Details page – Shows the details of each application including plans and images from the application documents.
- Suggestions page – Suggested changes to the proposals and possible concerns with the applications which you might want to include in your responses.
To help you understand where these applications are in Wixams, we have put together an interactive map:
About This Page
This page is an overview of the applications, including links to the details and documents on the two councils’ planning portals, and instructions for how to respond to the applications. You should have received a letter from your council informing you of these applications, this page should help make that letter more clear and the same wording has been used for each application in the tables below to make this more accessible.
There are two sets of planning applications, those for the town centre, and the open spaces and amenities outside of the town centre. Some applications are hosted on the Bedford Borough Council (BBC) website, some are on the Central Beds Council (CBC) website, and some are on both. Instructions on how to respond are further down the page.
Most of the applications include a copy of Urban&Civic’s Statement of Community Involvement:
Background Information
We previously met with the master developers, Urban&Civic, and they have informed us of a few key details:
- There are 12 applications in total, covering most of the town centre facilities and the open spaces across the entire development.
- The remaining amenities and leisure facilities are defined in the Section 106 (S106) agreement for Wixams, which was agreed as part of the outline consent for the Wixams Masterplan. The outline consent expired on 2nd June and the developers had to submit applications which covered the remaining facilities by that date.
- If one or more of these applications is rejected this causes a lot of issues for the developer because they would have to resubmit outline consent and it’s unclear what that would mean. We have separately spoke to local councillors and they have confirm this, they agreed it’s not clear what would happen in that case.
- Some of the facilities are included in a wider application but will result in a separate reserved matters application to agree the final details. This includes the skatepark, where U&C plan to engage with younger residents before final plans are submitted.
- Due to the overwhelming response from residents at the removal of the pub from the plans, the developers have agreed to put a food and beverage (F&B on the map) facility back into the plans but this will be determined at a later date. The S106 agreement did not include adult social spaces so the developers did not need to include it in the plans they have now submitted.
Town Centre Planning Applications
The town centre applications each include the Wixams Town Centre Masterplan Design and Access Statement which contains some very useful information and graphics:
- Design and Access Statement – Part 1
- Design and Access Statement – Part 2
- Design and Access Statement – Part 3
- Design and Access Statement – Part 4
- Design and Access Statement – Part 5
- Design and Access Statement – Part 6
| Site Address | Proposal | Application Details | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrian Link to Town Park, Cedarwood Circle | Reserved Matters: for strategic landscaping works. Pedestrianised link between town centre and town park | CB/26/01663/RM – Application Details | CB/26/01663/RM – Documents |
| Land West of the Town Park, Cedarwood Circle, Wixams | Reserved Matters for a Foodstore. | CB/26/01665/RM – Application Details | CB/26/01665/RM – Documents |
| Land south of Willow Grove Primary School, Fisherswood Road, Wixams, Beds | Reserved Matters: for shop units and village hall, related parking, landscaping and other infrastructure. | BBC: 26/01006/MAR – Application Details CBC: CB/26/01666/RM – Application Details | BBC: 26/01006/MAR -Documents CBC: CB/26/01666/RM – Documents |
| Land at Brookside Road, Wixams, Beds | Reserved Matters for GP surgery and ancillary infrastructure | BBC: 26/00991/REM – Application details CBC: CB/26/01685/RM – Application Details | BBC: 26/00991/REM – Documents CBC: CB/26/01685/RM – Documents |
| Land south of Willow Grove Primary School, Fisherswood Road, Wixams, Beds | Reserved Matters: for nursery and related parking, landscaping and associated infrastructure | BBC: 26/00992/REM – Application Details CBC: CB/26/01686/RM – Application Details | BBC: 26/00992/REM – Application Documents CBC: CB/26/01686/RM – Documents |
Open Spaces and Other Planning Applications
| Site Address | Proposal | Application Details | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parcel OS8, Land at Rowan Road and Four Acre Drive, Land at Wixams | Reserved Matters for strategic landscaping works. Open Space 8 | CB/26/01667/RM – Application Details | CB/26/01667/RM – Documents |
| Land to the South of the Town Park, Cedarwood Circle, Wixams, Beds | Reserved Matters for a pavilion building, outdoor leisure areas, parking and landscaping Open Space 2 | CB/26/01675/RM – Application Details | CB/26/01675/RM – Documents |
| Land Between Fisherswood Road Wixams and Kenneth Way Wilstead | Reserved Matters for Strategic Landscaping Works including Football Pitches, Provision of Changing Facilities and Ancillary Infrastructure Building Open Space 1b | 26/00988/MAR – Application Details | 26/00988/MAR – Documents |
| Land Adjacent Quail Close and Cuckoo Road Wixams | Reserved Matters for strategic Landscaping works Open Space 2b | 26/00989/REM – Application Details | 26/00989/REM – Documents |
| Land Adjacent Hedgehog Mead and Harlequin Crescent Wixams | Reserved Matters for Village 2 Community Centre and ancillary infrastructure | 26/00990/REM – Application Details | 26/00990/REM – Documents |
| Land Adjacent Emmer Drive, Meadow Road and Fisherswood Road Wixams | Reserved Matters reserved for Strategic Landscaping Works including allotments, tennis courts, a basketball court, MUGA and associated parking; and the erection of pedestrian bridge, village hall (club house) with changing rooms and associated parking and air source heat pump. Open Space 4 | 26/00994/MAR – Application Details | 26/00994/MAR – Documents |
| Land at Meadow Road Wixams | Reserved Matters for Strategic Landscaping Works including Super Neighbourhood Area of Play Open Space 5 | 26/00995/MAR – Application Details | 26/00995/MAR – Documents |
How to Respond
You can respond to any of the applications by submitting them directly onto the planning portal using the links above or by email.
You must:
- Submit your comments to the correct council where the application is hosted by one council.
- Submit comments to either council where hosted on both.
- Submit comments for each application separately, comments submitted against multiple applications will not be accepted.
- If sending comments by email you must send one email per application.
Email addresses:
- Bedford Borough Council applications: planning@bedford.gov.uk
- Central Beds Council applications: debbie.quinn@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Before you comment please read one of the following pages:
- www.bedford.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-applications/comment-planning-applications
- www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/44/planning/478/view_and_comment_on_planning_applications/3
These explain:
- How planning decisions are made.
- What type of comments can be considered and what to include in your comments.
- What information will be published online.
The deadline for comments is 31st July
Tips for Responding to Planning Applications
- Include your name, address and the planning reference for the application you are responding to.
- Make sure you state whether you “support” or “object to” the application.
- Whether you support or object to the application, it can be helpful to include aspects of the application which you agree with. This can be listed as a set of bullets.
- Include a list of aspects which you object to, in particular if you object to the whole application make sure to state why.
- Multiple people in the same household can respond to an application.
- You can use the same text as someone else when responding.
- The Bedford Borough Council planning portal allows you to see comments already submitted by other people on each application, this can be a good way to identify things you want to include in your own response.