A Conservative councillor seeking reelection in the Wixams and Wilstead ward is concerned about a lack of infrastructure to match the thousands of new homes in the area.
Cllr Graeme Coombes who was first elected in 2011, is standing with Marc Frost and Andrea Spice as the Conservative candidates for the new ward.
“The number one issue for residents at the moment is the lack of GP surgery, it’s a big problem,” Graeme said.
“My GP is in Ampthill and if I want to go to the doctor it’s a 14-mile round trip.
“This is ridiculous, we’re living in what’s meant to be sustainable development and everything should be within walking distance.
“There’s an elderly population in Wilstead and they want the surgery here as well because they’re also going to Ampthill at the moment.
“You’ve got the retirement village in Wixams, there’s a care home opposite and there was meant to be another one, but it hasn’t happened yet.
“You’ve also got a demographic here in Wixams with younger families with children, so all kinds of groups that really use a GP quite a lot.
“None of the infrastructure that’s been promised has happened,” he said.
“Everything, whether it be the station, whether it be the GP surgery, whether it is a crossing outside a school; it’s just a never-ending sense of well, they just keep building houses,” he said.
Graeme said more new homes are planned for the ward.
“I think all of us would agree that we need more new homes, but we need the right kind of homes for the right kind of people,” he said.
“We need low cost starter homes, in Bedford town centre, for younger people to get on the housing ladder.
“So for me the local plan is flawed – it addresses the issue of the need for more houses, but it’s the wrong houses in the wrong place,” he said.
Graeme is also concerned about how the local plan will affect Wilstead.
“They call it Wixams South and Wixams East, but it’s actually Wilstead and that would put another 2,000 homes in the village,” he said.
“So you’re literally going to triple the size of Wilstead and that would destroy the character of the village completely.”
Residents can follow Graeme’s campaign on Twitter (@GSCoombes), Facebook (facebook.com/graeme.coombes.505) or can email all the Conservative candidates for Wixams and Wilstead at wilshamstead.ward@yahoo.co.uk.
While Graeme is standing again to fight for the right development for the ward’s residents, he said he is also keen to be there to take care of the “basics”.
“It’s all very good complaining when there’s a pothole in your road, but
somebody needs to fix it, if there is litter it needs collecting,” Graeme said.
“That’s all small stuff, but it’s all important, it’s about making the place where you live better.
“And I’m really happy to have represented the area where I live, I walk out the
door and it’s there in front of me.
“It’s hard work being a councillor, and you have to put in the hours and you have to be responsible and take calls and emails at all times of the day and night,
“But it is a lot of fun as well, and the best bit is when you see the results of what you’ve been doing,” he said.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
