Bedford Borough Council does NOT have the final say on where a new railway car park will be built, the Council can confirm.
Major construction works will take place, both in and around Bedford Midland station, as part of the East West Rail project, a multi-billion-pound rail link being built between Oxford and Cambridge with Bedford at its centre.
This will include a new station building and a new nearby multi-storey car park, but contrary to rumours Bedford Borough Council does not have the final say for the car park’s location. Instead, as with the wider project, the Council is a statutory consultee and will be giving its view on the location once options are put forward by East West Rail.
Councillor Nicky Gribble, Portfolio Holder for Environment said; “We’ve all heard these rumours. They’re simply not true.
“The Council isn’t responsible for East West Rail. The Council isn’t responsible for the new station. The Council isn’t responsible for the homes that face being demolished.
“This is a scheme being delivered by East West Rail, a government-owned company created by the Department for Transport (DfT) nine years ago. Our preference is to have a good working relationship with them, but our priority is our residents, our businesses, and our communities – and we’ll fight tooth and nail to ensure that the project delivers maximum benefits whilst causing minimum damage.
“And the idea that we’re somehow given control of where the multi-storey car park goes? It’s off the rails, I’m afraid.”
Bedford MP Mohammad Yasin is among those who have recently posted that he had heard the car park rumours, and Councillor Gribble offered to meet with him to put him right.
She said; “The Council has been fully transparent regarding East West Rail; there’s a dedicated page on our website which includes details of all our meetings with the organisation, every consultation, FAQs and much more. We’ve held our own information events, and we encourage everyone to take part in East West Rail’s own public consultation.
“If Mr Yasin wants to hear the facts, I’m always happy to meet with him. But I don’t recommend he relies on disproved rumours.”