People in Bedford’s Queen’s Park have warned their neighbourhood could be overwhelmed by traffic and congestion under East West Rail (EWR) proposals for a multi-storey station car park.
The plan, which would place a new parking facility on the Ford End Road side of the railway, sparked strong opposition at a public meeting hosted by Bedford Borough Council at Borough Hall on Monday (16 February).
The meeting was one of a series of public sessions, which Bedford mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative) said were arranged to help residents understand EWR’s evolving plans.
“What we found was there’s a real gap between what people were finding out and what was actually planned,” he told attendees.
Mayor Wootton said the Ford End Road car park proposal had come as a surprise to the authority.
“It was just something that they have landed on us,” he said.
Residents raised concerns that the surrounding roads and bridge access were not suitable for the volume of vehicles a large car park could generate.
One speaker warned there was “absolutely no way” Ford End Road bridge could cope if the facility was intended to serve around 1,000 cars.
Another Queen’s Park representative said the area was already struggling with parking pressures and limited transport routes.
“It’s getting beyond a joke now in Queen’s Park,” she said.
Questions over location
Bedford and Kemspton MP, Mohammad Yasin (Labour), questioned how the Queen’s Park location had been chosen.
He told the mayor that residents who spoke with East West Rail had been given the impression that the car park had been moved from Ashburnham Road after the council suggested the company look for alternative locations.
Read: Council unanimously opposes East West Rail’s car park relocation plans
“The council basically suggested to [EWR to] find an alternative place,” he said, asking what alternative location had been in the council’s mind.
In response, Mayor Wootton said: “It is not our view as a borough council that that is a good place for a multi-storey car park.”
Jo Branson-Budd, head of capital projects, infrastructure and sustainable travel at the council, said Bedford Borough supported replacement station parking in principle and was “willing to work with East West Rail… to find better locations” for the proposed multi-storey car park.
She added, “We have not identified this location.”
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) following the meeting, East West Rail confirmed it is proposing a multi-storey car park at Ford End Road.
But it also said work is still ongoing to determine its capacity and height, with more details expected during a consultation planned for this spring.
“This site was selected following feedback to our original proposal,” the company said, adding that moving the car park to the west of the station would “reduce the visual impact for those on Ashburnham Road”,
They also say it complements wider plans to redevelop Bedford station, including a new western entrance close to Ford End Road.
The spokesperson added that providing parking near the western entrance would help disperse traffic and “reduce congestion at the station’s main entrance.”
The company said its revised proposal was first outlined in its You Said, We Did report published in November 2025, and that Bedford Borough Council had been updated via a presentation in December.
EWR added that it had undertaken initial traffic modelling and is now carrying out more detailed work, with further information expected during the Spring consultation.
Responding to the mayor’s comments about a gap in public understanding, EWR said its recent design update sessions were held “specifically” to provide residents and stakeholders with updates on its latest designs, following publication of the You Said, We Did report.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
