Residents in a tiny village have warned they can’t cope with Labour’s plans to build 40,000 extra homes and turn it into a ‘new town’ – as they don’t even have a shop.
Tempsford in Bedfordshire was shortlisted as one of seven new towns in England under Labour’s plans to deliver 1.5million properties by 2029.
But many living in the rural community, which is home to just 600 people, have been far from celebrating.
Opponents to the plans claim they simply do not have capacity for the influx of new residents – as there is no doctor, dentist, school or supermarket.
Parish council chairman David Sutton has lived in the village for 10 years in his 450-year-old Tudor home.
Mr Sutton, who also runs the local pub, said: ‘We are not NIMBYs – we just don’t want everything in our backyard… we’d need a doctors, a dentist, schools – we don’t even have a shop.’
‘This development – if it goes ahead which it looks like it will – is going to change everything.
‘We are a rural community and lots of people moved here because they wanted to live in the countryside.
‘Yet nobody will tell us anything about how things are going to change or what the outcome is going to be.’
Tempsford could be fast-tracked under the homes plan because of the new East West Rail Link.
The Cambridge to Oxford corridor has been dubbed Europe’s Silicon Valley and was first announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in January 2025.
The government have said funding will become available to ‘kickstart development’ including backing new homes, labs and workspaces.
But residents say Tempsford is steeped in rich history – as the home of an RAF base which was dubbed one of the most secret airfields of World War II.
The village is also partly on a flood plain which has caused issues for residents over the years, including road closures and sewage overflows.
And the area is surrounded by farmland, of which its farmers are tenants.
Another woman, who currently owns 10-and-a-half-acres of land said she had already been made ‘essentially homeless’ – and had now been issued with a ‘stop notice’ on her caravan.
Julie Stanley, 53, said her home was plagued by floodwaters – which left her having to be rescued by the fire brigade.
Ms Stafford, a hotelier who has lived in the village for 15 years, added her house has now been branded unhabitable and she cannot insure it to sell.
She said: ‘Practicality has not been thought about here. It’s going to look like the Bronx.
‘We’re not inventing new land, we’re encroaching on what is already being used.
‘I’m not against developing – I know progress, whether good or bad, has to happen.
‘But I am essentially homeless and I am living in a caravan next to my property.’
Ms Stafford added the floodwater had risen to waist height in 20 minutes.
‘I had to get myself, my dogs and my partner out’, she said.
Ms Stafford said it is a 16-mile drive for her to get to the nearest shop due to a lack of access roads and ongoing work at the nearby Black Cat roundabout.
And she said she had even been issued with a stop notice on her caravan.
Ms Stafford added: ‘The council will tell anyone trying to put a planning application through they can’t do it because it’s on a flood plain or it’s ruining the rural idyll.
‘But it’s a double standard when they’re wanting to build 40,000 new homes here.
‘I moved to a village. If I wanted to live in a city then I would have moved to one.’
John Hewitt, who has lived in the village for five years at his thatched cottage, said: ‘I’m not against development but it is on a huge scale.
‘We need to build houses and we need more jobs but it does depend on how much afford housing they’re planning on building.
‘If they’re going to build a train station for Universal [theme park] then it would be nice for the kids to be able to walk up there.
‘Some people in the village are very against it. We are in the countryside – we even have a field behind our house.
‘Tempsford does seem to be at the top of the Government’s list.’
Film giant Universal Studios have also commenced work on their first theme park in Europe – with the 476-acre complex just 14 miles away.
The seven locations for the government’s new towns were narrowed down from 12 initially proposed by a Government taskforce.
Those that did not make the cut were deemed suitable for development but not as fully formed new towns.
Each location will consist of 40 per cent ‘affordable’ housing, of which at least half will be designated for social rent.
The seven locations are Tempsford, Bedfordshire; Leeds’ South Bank; Crews Hill and Chase Park in north London; Manchester’s Victoria North; Thamesmead, south-east London; Brabazon, south Gloucestershire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Other areas were considered – Adlington, Cheshire; Heyford Park, Oxfordshire; Marlcombe, Devon; Plymouth; South Barking, east London and Wychavon Town, Worcestershire – but they will not be taken forward.
