Central Beds risks becoming a 'housing estate of Milton Keynes' under devolution plans, says councillor

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC), together with some of its neighbours, is expected to be included in the first wave of new strategic authorities to be created by May 2026.

An extraordinary CBC meeting was asked to endorse talks taking place with the government to help better inform a future decision, under a motion from council leader and Independent Potton councillor Adam Zerny.

The motion was passed during a vote, last night, (January 6) while an earlier amendment from Labour Dunstable North councillor Matt Brennan was rejected.

Councillor Zerny wondered whether CBC should “embrace devolution” and “have an opportunity to mould a deal” or “sit back and watch others do so”.

He spoke of the potential for the council to not “necessarily get the deal others do”, through a lack of involvement.

“Unless the government gets distracted, it will make this work,” he said. “There’s much to be achieved here, building good relationships with our neighbours to get that deal, which will come back to all of you before we decide whether we go ahead.”

Councillor Brennan told the meeting: “It’s devolution, about giving power to local people and strategy.

“On a Monday, ahead of the pivotal point on Friday, (January 10) we’re presented with absolutely nothing,” he explained. “I would beg and plead that we get more information in the months ahead about what’s actually happening from the leader, as our chief negotiator.”

Conservative Cranfield and Marston Moretaine councillor Sue Clark described herself as “fundamentally opposed to the government’s devolution plans”, warning: “They’re consolidation and concentration, and we stand to be subsumed into an anonymous structure.

“We’ll be stripped of some of our really important decision-making powers. This is so rushed as a process.

“My biggest worry is the proposed veto and strategic powers the mayor will have on planning, and the imbalance of power there’ll be between us, as a rural authority, being combined with Milton Keynes and Luton.

“Milton Keynes has never shied away from its desire to expand into Central Bedfordshire. We need to be careful about simply becoming the housing estate for Milton Keynes and not being in control of our planning decisions, which is vitally important.

“This is structural messing about of the worst kind and will create a layer of bureaucracy for our residents.”

Conservative Eaton Bray councillor Philip Spicer suggested: “It feels like there’s a gun to my back currently.

“If we go ahead, where will we be and who will we be? The government’s not talking about small numbers, rather 1.5m people this council or group of authorities will look after.

“We need the widest selection of different councils to represent our wards. If it doesn’t include a rural side, the villages will be forgotten. We don’t want the bad deal and I don’t want Labour to enforce one which won’t suit anybody.”