of the Meeting of Wyboston, Chawston and Colesden Parish Council
held on Monday, 21st September 2026 at 7:30pm in Wyboston Village Hall
Councillors: Cllrs M Yemm (Chairman), A Betteridge, G Johnston, A Murrie and A Roche
In Attendance: Clerk, Borough Cllr S Sira (from 8:57pm) and 5 members of the public
Public Participation: Standing Orders will be suspended for a period of approximately 15 minutes (at the discretion of the Chairman) to allow members of the public to address the Council:
• Borough Cllr Report – Cllr Sira’s annual report is available on the PC website.
There were no further matters raised, and Standing Orders were duly reinstated.
1. Apologies
Borough Cllr Sira sent her apologies however she was in attendance from 8:57pm
2. Declarations of Interest:
There were no interests declared.
3. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 20th July 2026:
With the agreement of all those present, the above minutes were confirmed as a correct record and were duly signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters Arising from previous meeting:
1. Public Participation re: Streetlighting on flyover, signage/lighting opposite the Garden Centre and safety feature at the roundabout on Roxton Road – Cllr Johnston advised that lighting is currently being installed on the roundabout. National Highways will not be installing lighting opposite the Garden Centre on the island. They will install reflective bollards here instead.
2. Item 4.1 re: vehicle movements at W S Transportation – Clerk has circulated figures to Councillors for consideration – Resolved: Cllr Roche to check planning conditions so we can compare with number of vehicle movements logged.
3. Item 4.2 re: Vacancy – WCCPC is still looking for members. Any interested parties should contact either the Chairman or Clerk for further information [Clerk]
4. Item 7.2 re: invitation to PCSO Reece Forder to attend an upcoming meeting – PCSO Forder will try to make our November PC meeting.
5. Item 10.4 re: ownership of strip of land at Morris Walk – having found further documentation, the Village Hall Committee confirmed that WCCPC owned the small strip of land at Morris Walk but the maintenance of the land was the responsibility of the Village Hall Committee as tenants.
There were no further matters arising.
5. Highways
1. East West Rail Update – Cllr Johnston reported there have been no Local Representative Group meetings recently. Still waiting for the Development Consent Order (DCO).
2. A428 Update – Still ongoing weekend closures. Chairman and Cllr Johnston had a meeting recently with Paul Pace to raise issues arising from the works. The southern bridge over the A1 has initially been opened as a two lane bridge rather than the anticipated three lanes. Cllr Johnston has concerns regarding the traffic lights which will remain on the southern bridge to control flow on bridge and A1 north off slip which will potentially cause bottle necks. Traffic lights are showing on the northern bridge as well which will lead to similar problems. The drop off the roundabout on the south side going to the compound was also discussed as hazardous with Paul Pace confirming he shared our concerns. He promised to raise this with National Highways. Regarding patching roads – BBC admitted that they would be accepting liability as the roads were in poor condition prior to works by National Highways. Chairman and Cllr Johnston pointed out that liability should be shared.
3. VAS – Cllr Johnston had circulated the latest findings he had downloaded from the units via e-mail to Councillors.
6. Planning
6.1 Planning Applications
1. 26/01256/FUL New picket fence to front of site, entrance gates and front parking area at Cranwell Court Annexe, 123 The Lane, Wyboston – no objection [already submitted]
2. 26/01411/LDE Certificate to confirm existing outbuilding in the curtilage of the application site is lawful at 20 Great North Road, Wyboston – no comment [already submitted]
3. 26/01549/FUL Re-arrangement of parking and boundary layout to approved plans 20/00125/FUL and 21/01222/S73 and brick wall to plot 1 (development already carried out) at land at Top Farm, The Lane, Wyboston – no comment
4. 26/01743/FUL Single storey rear extension at 20 Spinney Road, Chawston – no objection
5. 26/01752/FUL Installation of 24 ground mounted solar panels at 8 Rookery Road Wyboston – no objection but concerns that, as it is close to the road, it may cause glare.
6.2 Planning Matters
1. 24/02097/EIA APPEAL Erection of a 100.7m high wind turbine at Wyboston Lakes Hotel, Wyboston Lakes Business and Leisure Village, Great North Road, Wyboston
2. 25/02392/PIP APPEAL Permission in principle for residential development comprising a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 9 dwellings at land at Box Cottage, Chawston Lane, Chawston
3. 26/00019/S73A Change of Use of land for B8 Open Storage for the storage of prefabricated modular buildings along with surface changes and erection of a 200sqm storage barn (part retrospective) at land to the north of Chawston Lane, between Mandeville House, Chawston Lane and the A1 – permission refused
4. 26/01338/FUL Erection of timber carriage house to store up to 3 cars at 35 Rookery Road, Wyboston – application withdrawn
5. 26/00173/MAF Change of Use to storage and distribution (use class B8) at Spinney View Farm, Chawston – to be considered at Planning Committee @ 28th September.
7 Police
1. To receive local crime statistics (see attached table – Appendix 2)
8 Village Hall Report
1. Cllr Betteridge reported it remains successful. A projector is now up and running in the main hall – potential film nights may be trialled.
2. Defibrillator – budget of £1.5K approved for supply and installation of a replacement defibrillator.
9 Finance
9.1 To approve payments and note any income:
A schedule of payments and receipts that were approved are noted in Appendix 1.
9.2 To receive information regarding the current financial statement:
The updated cashbook with bank reconciliation, having been previously circulated to Councillors, was approved.
9.3 Year End Accounts 2025/2026
Clerk confirmed that the year-end accounts for 2025-2026 had been successfully audited by Mazars LLP with no issues raised. The audited copy along with a completion notice has been published on our website.
9.4 To approve donation to RBL Poppy Appeal for a wreath
£50 donation approved.
10. Matters Arising from Correspondence/AOB
1. E-mail from St Neots Museum re: Little Barford/Tempsford Development
2. BBC Library consultation which runs until midday on 2nd November 2026. Find out more at www.bedford.gov.uk/LibraryConsultation.
3. E-mail from BBC re: Universal Studios – Bedford Borough hosts regional summit on Universal
4. Communications – The value of our main lines of communication within the Parish were discussed and the importance of ensuring that all entries on our Facebook page and our Website are totally accurate and non-party political, as is our Parish Council.
11. Date of Next Meeting:
Monday, 16th November 2026 at 7:30pm in Wyboston Village Hall