Artist’s impression of the proposed Grace Community Hub in Kempston. Image: Grace Community Church
Campaigners against a church and housing development on a known flood plain have reacted angrily to claims that there will be no affordable homes within the scheme.
Grace Church submitted its application for the community hub in Kempston in February 2024.
Read: Mixed response to Grace community hub planning application in Kempston
Bedford Borough Council has now released for consultation the advice of its independent viability assessor, BNP Paribas, on the application.
BNP Paribas has specified that the Council should not agree to “enabling” housing if Grace Church’s “community hub” benefits don’t outweigh the loss of urban open space or policy-compliant affordable housing.
Grace Church submitted its own viability assessment as part of its planning application, and claimed that Grace could still not include the normal 30% proportion of affordable homes in the development, or pay for any other planning obligations such as residents’ education or health needs.
Cllr James Valentine (Labour, Kempston West) said the announcement had caused “outrage in the community”, who he says don’t accept that a church should be exempt from normal developers’ obligations.
“This focuses the planning balance decision on these supposed community benefits. Residents have said time and again that they don’t need an additional charity in this middle-income area, and that existing churches and charities cater very well for residents’ needs.”
Loss of urban green space
Campaigners have said that the proposed site is an irreplaceable green space that provides vital heritage value and supports natural flood management.
“Flooding remains a major concern for residents in the Church Walk and Water Lane areas, where incidents have become increasingly frequent,” said Cllr Valentine.
“Many still recall the Christmas 2020 floods, which prompted evacuation notices, as well as flooding last September that contributed to travel disruption and national media coverage.”
A421 flooded at Marston Moretaine from above on 23 September 2024 Image: Cozzas Drone/Facebook
More than 400 formal objections have now been submitted to the council. Moreover, Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust’s objection points out that the canal route, already approved by the Council, runs directly through the proposed development.
Cllr Valentine presented the planning updates to Kempston Town Council on 9 December, who agreed to send in another objection to back up their previous ones.
At the same time, he drew attention to Grace Church’s non-attendance at inter-faith services or any of Kempston’s Christmas events, saying it was “hardly an advertisement for a ‘community’ church.”
A spokesperson for Grace Church told the Bedford Independent: “It is an important point to note that the site is not on a Flood Plain.”
In response, Cllr Valentine said: “To quote from Waterman, [Grace Church’s] own consultant’s report that was included in the application: ‘Based on the Environment Agency (EA) Flood Map for Planning, a significant proportion of the Site lies within Flood Zone 2, associated with the River Great Ouse. Flood Zone 3 is limited to the northern parcel…’”