Wilshamstead Cllr Graeme Coombes is demanding answers as to why the estimated cost of a train station for Wixams has spiralled out of control.
In 2007 new Wixams residents were told by the developer, Gallagher Estates, that the settlement would have a train station in place by 2015 at a cost of around £13m - £14m.
A decade on and there is no sign of the station being delivered, with Gallagher Estates now claiming the cost to be in the region of £30m and therefore unaffordable.
At a meeting last week of the Wixams Joint Development Control Committee, which is responsible for scrutinising planning issues in relation to the development, Cllr Coombes questioned how the cost could have risen so sharply.
After the meeting he said:
‘Just over a week ago, I was informed by Bedford Borough Highways officers that there would be no decision on a station at Wixams until at least November, when the route of the East-West rail link is due to be confirmed. This instruction has come directly from the Department for Transport.
‘The rationale is that if the decision on East-West was to take the route south of the town centre, through Wixams, then a different type of station would be needed, with both east-west as well as north-south platforms.
‘Whilst we have waited far too long already for Wixams Station to be confirmed, it seems reasonable to await the outcome of the East-West route, particularly as we are currently nowhere near having the necessary funding in place to build the station.
‘Councillors feel that there is currently not nearly enough scrutiny of the decisions made by key stakeholders that affect the Wixams development. It was therefore proposed by the Committee that both Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Councils should put in place a much better scrutiny framework to allow councillors to summon and question Gallagher Estates, Network Rail, the BCCG (Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group) and individual developers who are responsible for delivering the much needed and currently lacking infrastructure. One of the first issues is to look into the finances and projected costs, because I frankly do not believe the cost of the station has gone from £13m to £30m in the space of just 8 years.’
Cllr Coombes also said he would be seeking a meeting with London & Quadrant (L & Q) which recently purchased Gallagher Estates in a £505m deal. He said:
‘I have this week requested a meeting with the new owners, to bring them up to speed on the issues we are facing, making clear our frustration at the failure to deliver and see if, as a result of this change in ownership, we can start to make some progress on the station.’
