A review that could change which parish some Kempston residents belong to, and who represents them, has been put on hold after borough councillors criticised errors in official documents and discovered that one of the original supporters had withdrawn their backing.
Bedford Borough Council’s General Purposes Committee was due to agree the terms of a Community Governance Review on Tuesday night (4 November).
The review, requested initially by Kempston Town Council and Cllr James Valentine (Labour, Kempston West), was to tidy up the boundary between Kempston Town Council and Kempston Rural Parish Council, where new housing estates have left streets split across two parishes.
Cllr Valentine told the meeting that the existing boundary divides several areas, including parts of Oliver Close, Lewis Close, and Wilkinson Road, and sections of Saunderson Field, Clover Way and Manley Way.
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However, he said he now believed the review could “do more harm than good” and confirmed he wished to withdraw his request.
But the committee was told it could not ignore the separate request made by Kempston Town Council unless the council also confirmed, in writing, that it wished to withdraw.
Members agreed that the town council should be contacted within 24 hours so the issue can be added to its next agenda.
Multiple problems
Councillors then turned to the report itself, and found multiple problems. Cllr Graeme Coombes (Conservative, Wixams and Wilstead) described the document as “pretty sloppy,” pointing out typos, unclear wording and the misspelling of Branston Way.
Cllr Doug McMurdo (Independent, Sharnbrook) pointed out the lack of clear maps, and said the report was a “basket case”, and supported a delay until councillors could see accurate mapping of the parish boundary.
The monitoring officer, Graham Watts, apologised for the errors and told the committee the review could still be completed in time for the 2027 parish council elections, even if the decision was delayed to January.
Two options were debated: approve the terms of reference in principle, subject to the town council’s position, or defer the entire item.
In the end, the committee voted to defer until 6 January 2026. The report will be corrected, maps added, and both Kempston Town Council and Kempston Rural Parish Council will be contacted for their views.
Chair of the committee, cllr Henry Vann (Lib Dem, De Parys), said it would be “wrong, morally and democratically” to ignore a valid request for a review.
If Kempston Town Council keeps its request in place, consultation with residents would be the first step in 2026, with a second stage later in the process if a boundary change is proposed.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
