Wixams Station got the green light from Bedford Council’s Planning Committee on 20th February, after Councillors unanimously backed plans for the station buildings, car park and platforms at its meeting on 20th February.
After much exploratory work on the station site, the approval of the planning application means construction of the buildings and platforms can now go ahead and the much delayed Wixams Station now moves one step closer to completion, with a scheduled opening date of December 2024.
Wixams Councillor, Graeme Coombes, attended and spoke at the meeting, urging fellow Councillors to approve the plans, and push the station project one step further along the track. He also asked Councillors to ensure that the Highways and Transport officers within the Borough Council engage with bus services providers at an early stage, to ensure that routes linking the station with nearby villages come into effect from day one. He further asked for a parking scheme to be considered immediately outside the station zone, so that residents living nearby would not be inconvenienced by on-street parking by those wanting to avoid having to pay to use the new station car park.
After the Planning meeting, Cllr Coombes commented:
“I am delighted Councillors have tonight approved plans for Wixams Station. This is the latest step in a long and tortuous journey to ensure that Wixams residents get the station that they were always promised.
It’s now imperative that as well as getting on with the construction of the station, the Council acts immediately to ensure we have bus services linking the station to the wider community, to avoid additional and unnecessary car journeys. I also want to see a controlled parking scheme in place immediately outside the station zone, so that residents living nearby aren’t plagued by on street parking congestion by drivers trying to avoid using the designated station car park.
After 11 years of delay to Wixams Station, it looks as though at long last we are getting nearer to the scheduled completion date of December 2024. I just hope that when the station opens, the trains are more punctual!”
