Bedford Borough Council has refused retrospective planning permission for a used car dealership operating from a former commercial unit in Kempston, after councillors said the access and surrounding roads were “substandard” and unsafe.
The application sought permission to change the use of the former PJ Shoes site, adjacent to 1 Stuart Road, to vehicle sales and storage.
Planning officer William Comber told the committee the site would operate on an appointment-only basis, “reducing the number of coming and goings”, and said there were “no concerns in relation to visual impact, waste, ecology or flooding”.
But ward councillors urged refusal.
Warnings over rewarding non-compliance
Cllr Caroline White (Green) said Stuart Road was “a residential road already with a history of overdevelopment”.
“In early 2024, I opened a planning enforcement investigation for this site that had already started trading on the former PJ Shoe site,” she said. This followed numerous complaints and concerns from residents.
“I ask the committee to take into account the impact this is having on residents already and respectfully request that the planning committee refuse this application tonight.”
Fellow ward cllr Mohammed Nawaz (Labour) told the meeting, “Retrospective applications should not become a mechanism that rewards non-compliance.”
He described Stuart Road as “a narrow road and naturally forms a bottleneck” and said: “This application… is about road safety, highway capacity, residential character, fair and constant planning enforcement. ”
Members also challenged how the “by appointment only” arrangement could be enforced.
Cllr Leigh Coombs (Lib Dems, Shortstown) asked: “How will they know and how will they be able to access our enforcement team and evidence that they’re turning up?”
Planning officer Gideon Richards replied, “I think it would be very difficult… I don’t think it is something that we could enforce.”
After voting down the officer’s recommendation to approve, councillors agreed on the reasons for refusal on grounds of highway safety.
After an adjournment, officers returned with material reasons for refusal, which included the “intensification in use of an access at a point where visibility is substandard and would lead to danger and inconvenience”.
They added that the junction access was “substandard and therefore unable to serve the proposed development with safety and convenience”.
Six members voted in favour of refusal, and the remaining three voted against the proposal.
Planning officers confirmed the applicant has the right to appeal the decision, as cllr Jim Weir (Conservative, Great Denham) was concerned about the business that is currently operating on the site.
If no appeal is lodged or it fails, the council is expected to pursue enforcement action.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
