Willington Parish Council: Update from Borough Councillors Stephen Moon and Phillippa Martin-MoranBryant – November 2019
Planning
The very disappointing decision by the Borough Planning Committee to allow the application for up to 46
dwellings on the vital green space in the centre of Willington shows how seriously flawed is the planning
process. The excellent work done by residents over the last three years to produce a Neighbourhood Plan which
identified additional housing on three much less damaging sites has been completely ignored.
Witnesses saw instructions being given at the Committee meeting by certain Councillors to others to vote on
political lines in favour of the development; one who did vote as instructed said he was against the
development when he attended the site visit but changed his mind when told to do so. In addition the advice
given by officers to the Committee over-emphasised the problems caused by the Council not having an
adequate land supply and ignored the fact that the proposals from the Neighbourhood Plan group would have
exceeded the target set by the Borough for Willington’s expansion. We are questioning the advice given to
councillors regarding the weight which can be given to Neighbourhood Plans.
At the time of writing an attempt is being made to get the Minister to call in the application so that the decision
of the Planning Committee can be reconsidered. The Minster has been written to by the Neighbourhood
Planning group and a supportive letter has been sent by Alistair Burt MP urging the Minister to respond. The
calling of the election has made the process, which usually takes several weeks, much more difficult.
Hospital Merger
The Chief Executive of Bedford Hospital told a meeting of the Borough Council’s Health Committee in October
that the merger with Luton & Dunstable is set to be completed by April 2020. This follows the receipt of
£99.5m from the Department for Health to upgrade facilities at Luton & Dunstable Hospital including a new
intensive care block, delivery suite and operating theatres.
The merger, announced in autumn 2017, pledged to protect key services at Bedford Hospital including A & E,
maternity and paediatrics. The meeting heard that some smaller services may be combined on a single site, but
95% of services would be unaffected.
Putnoe Walk in Centre
The Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG), the organisation responsible for organising NHS
services locally, has stated its intention to renew the contract for the Putnoe Walk in Centre (WIC) for a further
year to September 2021.
The Putnoe WIC (but not the main GP surgery) was threatened with closure last year after the decision to open
the Urgent Treatment Centre, which has a ‘walk in’ element, on the Bedford Hospital site. It was ultimately
agreed that the Putnoe WIC would remain open with reduced hours. The Council’s Health Committee has
heard that it continues to receive a high number of patients.
Rural Crime
Bedfordshire Police undertook a range of targeted activities as part of Rural Crime Week of Action from the 7th
October. Actions addressed issues such as motoring offences, illegal fishing and fly-tipping.
Bedfordshire Police has published a Rural Crime Handbook, primarily for businesses, setting out advice on how
to make it more difficult for criminals to operate. Search ‘Bedfordshire Rural Crime Handbook’ for more
information.