wixams.town

10/06/2026

Over 80 percent of respondents to the 2026 Wixams Residents' Survey said they will register with the Wixams GP surgery when built! See the full results here: https://www.wixams.town/surveys/residents-survey-2026/

06/06/2026

We're pleased to announce that the results from the Wixams Residents' Survey 2026 are now live! Thank you to the 584 households who took part in this survey, your input has been fantastic and led to some really interesting data.

You can access the results on our website, and you might notice we've added some more useful content to the site which we hope helps residents....

www.wixams.town/surveys/residents-survey-2026

05/06/2026

The planning applications for the Wixams town centre and open spaces around the town have been submitted to our two councils and are currently being processed. Once complete they will all go for public consultation, the consultation period will likely finish near the end of June. There will be 14 planning applications altogether!

We recommend that residents do not respond to the applications just yet. We are currently working with the Save the Wixams Masterplan group and we will be contacting local representatives in due course too. We aim to publish some guidance for the community as soon as we can, with suggestions on how to respond to the applications. It's expected that most of the applications will be in line with the needs of the community, however some issues have already been identified so we may recommend people object to those parts only.

More news soon!

04/06/2026

In case you’re not aware there’s now a brand new bus route for Wixams, connecting villages 3 and 4 with Bedford, Wootton and the Interchange Retail Park.

The 2W bus is operated by Stagecoach and started on Sunday 31st May. Buses now travel on this new route between Bedford and Wootton, via Cromwell Place and Harrowden Green (villages 3 and 4), and it also stops at the Interchange retail Park. This means residents in other parts of Wixams have more ways to travel and better access to shopping and amenities nearby.

Here’s the announcement from Stagecoach:

www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/east/bedford-new-network

The timetable for the 2W bus is available on the stagecoach website:

https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/East/BEDFORD/BE-2W-310526.pdf

They also have a map for Bedford bus routes:

https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/RouteMaps/East/NETWORK%20MAPS/Bedford%20Network%20-%2031MAY26.pdf

28/04/2026

23 Houses at Bedford Road Planning Application - REFUSED

The planning application to build 23 houses on the site next to Bedford Road and Southern Cross was rejected by the planners at Bedford Borough Council.

The grounds for rejecting it were:

- Cramped layout - The proposed design had too much parking and vehicle space, removed protected trees, and didn’t leave room for proper landscaping.
- Out of character - Building scale and layout didn’t fit the surrounding area, harming the local visual appeal.
- Access issues - The development didn’t show adequate turning space or safe access for refuse vehicles.
- Policy conflicts - The proposal breached multiple Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 policies and national design guidance (NPPF).

You can find out more about their proposals and access the planning officer's report here: https://www.wixams.town/2025/12/land-at-bedford-road/

08/04/2026

Urban&Civic have now released their proposals for Wixams Town Centre, health centre and open spaces, live online.

You can now view the plans, find out more about what is proposed, and share your feedback through our online exhibition.
The proposals include:
🛒 A new supermarket
🏥 A health centre
👶 A nursery
🏛️ A community building
🌿 A public square
🛍️ Space for up to 10 retail/service units (seeking feedback on use)
⚽ New open spaces, play areas and sports facilities across Wixams
🔗 Take a look here: https://www.wixams.co.uk/town-centre-open-space-proposals/

They will also be holding in-person events where you can view the proposals and speak to the team:
📍 Tuesday 14 April, 12:00 - 16:00
Wixams Retirement Village
📍 Tuesday 14 April, 18:45 - 20:45
Lakeview Village Hall

If you have any questions, please get in touch with them via [email protected]

Explore Wixams in Bedfordshire, a thriving community with rich amenities and unique charm. Learn what makes us special!

18/03/2026

Green Lane Double Yellow Lines Consultation

There is currently an open consultation inviting public comments on a proposal to install double yellow lines (DYL) on Green Lane. The request for the lines was submitted by Wixams Town Council to the highways team at Bedford Borough Council. According to the order this is to help residents on Nightingale Court to get in and out of their road.

Concerns have been raised by some residents that this proposal could have wider impacts on neighbouring roads in Wixams. We have put together a page of guidance on how to respond, with more information and links to the main documents.

www.wixams.town/2026/03/green-lane-double-yellow-lines-consultation

The deadline for comments is tomorrow, Thursday 19th March. We only just found out about this proposal so we unable to share it earlier.

19/02/2026

Willow Grove School / Town Centre Car Park Application

A planning application (ref: CB/25/04024/RM) has been submitted by Urban&Civic to Central Beds Council to build a new car park near the planned town centre of Wixams. This application has only just been brought to our attention today and the deadline for comments is tomorrow, Friday 20th February.

The car park would be adjacent to Willow Grove primary school. It includes spaces for visitors to the school and can also be used for short term parking for the town centre when built.

Whilst it is good to see the planners considering parking, Wixams is far too aware of the issues experienced when this is not properly addressed. It's been recommended to us that residents object to this application and we have put together some bullets, based on these recommendations, that you are welcome to copy and paste. You can respond whether you live in Central Beds or Bedford Borough.

You can find details of the application here listed on the CBC website:
https://plantech.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/PLANTECH/DCWebPages/acolnetcgi.gov?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=644112

The documents:
https://cbc.aifusion.io/planning/publicViewer.html?caseID=CB/25/04024/RM

To respond to this application please email the planning officer:
[email protected]

- The number of parking spaces created is too small, with the current parking arrangement designed for staff when the school reaches capacity. The school is far from fully established with only around 100 pupils but this will eventually grow to 4 form entry with 840 pupils. The catchment for the school includes villages which do not have safe pedestrian or cycle links to Wixams.
- There would be a cycle parking area however there is already a secure cycle parking area within the perimeter of the school. This new car park is unlikely to be used for cycles for people getting to the school.
- The location of the car park is on a busy junction and during the school drop-off and pick-up times there's likely to be a lot of congestion. This could lead to safety issues as has been seen regularly on Green Lane, for example people driving on pavements to avoid queueing.
- It's unclear how this car park will fit into the wider town centre plans. Another car park is planned for the town centre eventually but none of these plans have been published yet, just some proposals shows at last year's town centre consultation event.

19/02/2026

Since work started on The Rookery a couple of weeks ago, residents have raised concerns about the development and the scale of the work being done. Urban&Civic have published the attached guidance note to help resident understand what is being done there and why.

There are also concerns about the consultation process for approving the planning application. This is currently being looked into and a Freedom of Information request has been submitted to the council to get more information.

31/01/2026

🪏 Work on The Rookery starts Monday 🌳

Urban&Civic are starting work on the first open space to be developed this year on a plot known as "The Rookery". This is the patch of land next to Southern Cross, near Brooklands Avenue (https://w3w.co/regime.create.forget). The attached leaflets are being delivered through nearby doors.

Planning was submitted in 2021 (21/02000/REM) but received lots of objections from residents who wanted the site to be left as a natural habitat for wildlife. In particular they didn't want outdoor gym equipment to be installed there. The application was rejected by Bedford Borough Council's planning.

A second application was submitted with some changes, including removing the gym equipment (which will be installed in a different part of Wixams). The second application received no objections at all and was approved in 2023.

Urban&Civic are the new master developers for Wixams and this year they will be submitting a set of planning applications to develop the open spaces in Wixams. This plot already has planning approval and they're cracking on with the work from Monday.