Land East And West Of Home Road North Of Wood End Road And South Of Green End Road Kempston Bedfordshire Data via plota.co.uk

26/01428/MAO - Major Outline Awaiting decision

Proposal

Outline application with all matters reserved except access for the erection of up to 295 dwellings, including the construction of new accesses on to Home Road and Wood End Lane, open space, play areas, landscaping, drainage and all necessary associated supporting infrastructure works. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
22 Jul 2026
✓
Validated
31 Jul 2026
✓
Consultation
4 Aug 2026
Decision
Expected by 22 Oct 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision by 24 Oct 2026, from Bedford's recent new homes.

The consultation period closed on 8 Sept 2026.

Site constraints 2

Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Bedford
Application type
Major Outline
Received
22 Jul 2026
Validated
31 Jul 2026
Ward
Wootton & Kempston Rural
Parish
Kempston Rural
Case officer
Show
Target decision
22 Oct 2026
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 70, past Bedford's usual 63 days for new homes. 64% are decided within thirteen weeks, so most likely by 30 Oct 2026.

Day 7021 days to the 91-day target
42%decided within 8 weeks
33%approved
80decided in the last year

Plota live figures for new homes decided by Bedford in the last twelve months, from validation. Bedford decision record →

Public comments

109comments received
109 objecting

100% object · above the UK average of 74%

58 neighbours consulted · Last counted 7 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-14990752
Planning Portal ref
PP-14990752
Neighbours
4 Aug 2026
Consultation
4 Aug 2026
Comments by
8 Sept 2026
Site or press notice
11 Aug 2026
Env. assessment
No
Bedford
Planning Authority Score
2.4/10
Poor
#253 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Major dwellings

Bedford is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #201 out of 296. 52% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (86%) than the national average (90%).

Slower than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Bedford decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
80%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #259 of 296
86%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #239 of 296
56%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #201 of 296
52%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #233 of 296
52%
Minor dwellings approved
109 decided (1-9 homes)
69%
Major dwellings approved
26 decided (10+ homes)
67%
Change of use approved
57 decided
993
Total decisions
203 refused in the year to March 2026