Safety, resilience and community wellbeing should be placed at the heart of plans for the proposed new town at Tempsford.That’s the view of Bedfordshire public sector leaders who have written to the Secretary of State stating the design and construction of Tempsford should be about more than simply building large numbers of homes.Tempsford has been recommended to the government as one of the preferred locations for a large stand-alone New Town. It is also one of the locations which could be “fast-tracked” with the government keen to start development on three sites by 2029.In March 2026 the government confirmed Tempsford as one of the seven new towns shortlisted. It is the only one located in a rural location.40,000 new homes could be built in Tempsford.One of the main reasons for choosing Tempsford is its position at the intersection of the East Coast Main Line and the new East West Rail Link and part of the Oxford to Cambridge Corridor. Up to 40,000 new homes are proposed, together with infrastructure including a new main line station.The letter calls for crime prevention, emergency preparedness, fire safety, infrastructure resilience and the capacity of local public services to be embedded into the design and delivery of the new town from the outset.It also highlights the need for long-term government investment to ensure emergency services and resilience arrangements can keep pace with growth.The letter states: “The focus must be on creating homes alongside resilient safe communities and a healthy population.”It should follow the principles of designing out crime including natural surveillance, natural access control, a clear distinction between public and private spaces and effective maintenance of public areas.”It should also incorporate fire safety, emergency access, infrastructure robustness, climate resilience and capacity of public services to prevent, respond to, and recover from major incidents at the outset.”It further states: ”We write as leaders of Bedfordshire Police, Beds Fire & Rescue Service and the Beds Local Resilience Forum. We ask that decisions taken now, and at future planning stages, shape not only the safety, cohesion and wellbeing of those communities, but also their resilience and ability to withstand and recover from emergencies for decades to come. We must not squander this opportunity.”We wish to place on record our support for the responsible development of the new town at Tempsford. However, we must also be clear that development of this scale will place additional pressure on local public services and resilience arrangements to support them.”A new “all singing and all dancing” hospital should also be on the “shopping list” for Tempsford New Town – if the development goes ahead, according to the leader of Central Bedfordshire Council and Independent Potton councillor Adam Zerny.The letter has been signed by John Tizard, Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable Bedfordshire Police, Councillor Jacqueline Burnett, Chair of Bedfordshire and Rescue Fire Authority, and Andrew Hopkinson, Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and chair of Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum, the signatories welcome the opportunities presented by the development but stress that it must be about more than simply building homes.Continue Reading
Tempsford should be an opportunity to create a safe and low-crime town
