East West Rail: Bedford's mayoral candidates split on rail project

Part of the route of the controversial East West Rail project will not be decided before we know the winner of Bedford's mayoral elections. But where do the town's candidates stand on the scheme, that promises to unlock the economic potential of the region?

The £5bn railway will connect the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, via Bletchley and Bedford. Its developers say it will cut travel times, ease pressure on local roads and open up areas for businesses to grow, but a number of residents along the route have campaigned against the project.

The first section between Oxford and Bicester was completed in 2016, with the 21-mile stretch between Bicester and Bletchley finishing in 2024.

Stage two will join up Oxford and Bedford, but it is stage three that is concerning the candidates, between Bedford and Cambridge.

Residents in Bedford have waited almost two years to find out what the final route of that section will be, with the government saying locals will not get news on this until after election day on 4 May.

The wait is more anxious for some, as the size of the railway may involve homes in parts of the town being torn down.

One thing the candidates who want to be the next mayor agree on is that the wait for answers has been too long.

Liberal Democrat Dave Hodgson, 63, moved to Bedford when he was nine and has been mayor for more than 13 years.

He won a by-election following the death of Frank Branston in 2009 and has successfully defended his crown three times.

Keen to continue for another four years, Mr Hodgson says it is "an enjoyable job" but with "lots still to do", including tackling the cost of living crisis and a lack of GP surgeries in the borough.

He thinks East-West Rail will improve connectivity, saying that "every business he meets that wants to move to the area talks about how important connectivity is".

He wishes the company would "make a decision" on the route and "doesn't think they need six tracks", adding that "they need to protect houses and from day one be carbon neutral and electric".

The Conservatives were second in 2019, but have a new candidate in Tom Wootton.

The 54-year-old father-of-four has combined running a small family farm on the edge of Bedford with being a councillor since 2002.

In his eyes, East West Rail "has been an utter disaster from start to finish".

He says: "You can't be knocking down people's houses in Bedford, you can't carve up villages and introduce diesel trains in the town. There's no business case, there's no real justification."

Mr Wootton blames the current mayor for the problems he has with the scheme, saying: "East West Rail was a real opportunity for the town, but if you look at opportunities over the last 14 years, we've gone backwards."

Labour were third at the last election, but have also chosen a new candidate, 52-year-old Saqhib Ali.

Mr Ali is married with three children and has lived in Bedford for 45 years working as an accountant, a science teacher and a banker.

He has stood in parliamentary elections before, as an Independent in Mid Bedfordshire in 2005 and for Labour in 2017, where he finished second in North East Bedfordshire.

He says it is "atrocious that it's taken so long" for the results of a public consultation into the East-West Rail route between Bedford and Cambridge, which closed in June 2021, to be revealed.

Mr Ali feels that residents "have to have a full say on what the route is" and he would prefer trains to be electrified, "as there's no point having dirty diesel trains running between Oxford and Cambridge".

The Green Party has selected 60-year-old Adrian Spurrell again after he finished fourth in 2019.

The father-of-four has been a leadership and organisational development consultant for 25 years.

On East-West Rail, he feels "there are plenty of creative plans that say you don't need to demolish and that we can do much more with a five-line station".

Keen for the project to go ahead, he wants those responsible for it to re-evaluate the need for other transport schemes in the area, calling money spent on the Black Cat Roundabout - a "dead infrastructure that we need to move away from" - a "waste".

"It doesn't have to be the cheapest [train] route, but needs to be the best for Bedford and it has to be up and running quickly," he says.

Alberto Thomas is standing for The Heritage Party and has been approached for comment.

Beth West, chief executive of the East West Railway Company, says the project will "transform everyday travel for communities in Bedford by opening up new journeys, cutting travel times, easing traffic congestion and increasing job prospects".

"We know that some residents and homeowners - particularly those in the Poets and Ashburnham area - are facing particular difficulties right now and we have escalated these issues with the Department for Transport. We're determined to reduce any negative impacts from the project as much as possible," she says.

"We recognise that lots of people have been patiently waiting for updates on the route. The recent budget confirmed that the government's route update announcement will be in May, which will identify the preferred route between Bedford and Cambridge and provide updates on other sections of the line between Oxford and Bedford."

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