Building 40,000 new homes will turn our village into 'the Bronx'

RESIDENTS in a tiny village which doesn’t even have a shop fear they will soon be swamped by Britain’s biggest new town.

- BY FAYE MAYERN

Rural Tempsford could be massively expanded with 40,000 new homes under plans

(Picture: JAMES LINSDELL CLARK/SWNS)

Government plans mean 40,000 extra homes could be built on their doorstep.

It would make the rural backwater’s population comparable to the nearby city of Cambridge.

Many of the 600 residents of Tempsford in Bedfordshire are up in arms after the parish was shortlisted as one of seven new towns in England — the only rural one.

The move comes amid a government commitment to deliver 1.5 million new homes nationwide by 2029.

If the proposal is confirmed, Tempsford could be fast tracked due to the new East West Rail Link following the development of the Cambridge to Oxford corridor.

Movie giant Universal Studios has also commenced work on its first theme park in Europe. The 476-acre complex is just 14 miles away.

Parish council chairman David Sutton has lived in the village for 10 years in a 450-year-old Tudor home.

Charm

He said: “There is this fallacy the government are trying to push about the Cambridge to Oxford corridor.

“We're not Nimbys — we just don’t want everything in our backyard.

“Tempsford has around 600 residents and the upscale if they build these houses is going to be massive.