Central Bedfordshire Council gave the go ahead for the scheme earlier this month, despite strong opposition from local residents.

CPRE Bedfordshire believes that the decision to approve the application conflicts with national policy regarding the protection of heritage buildings in conservation areas.

A spokesperson for CPRE Bedfordshire said:

“Central Bedfordshire Council is under severe pressure from developers because it still has no agreed Local Plan and is unable to demonstrate to Government that it has a 5 year supply of land available for housing development.

“This is leading to a “free-for-all” with developers submitting hostile planning applications one after another right across the local authority area, followed by Appeals if they don’t get what they want.

“The people paying the price for this are the residents of Central Bedfordshire - they now have no idea where new homes will be built in their community or how many.”