Plans for an £80million development featuring almost 350 homes in the London commuter hotspot of Bedford have been given the go-ahead.

MCR Property Group secured planning approval for the development.

The project will be built on a 4.5-acre brownfield site in the town’s Kempston area and comprises 341 apartments and townhouses of varying sizes.

The scheme includes 150 one-bed, 155 two-bed and eight three-bed apartments, as well as 24 three-bed and four two-bed townhouses.

The development is expected to benefit from the growing home-working revolution sparked by the pandemic, which is driving increased interest in more affordable properties located outside the M25, but still within easy commuting distance of central London.

The site in Dallas Road is just half a mile south-west of Bedford town centre and a 4-minute drive from Bedford train station. From here, commuters can travel into St Pancras International in as little as 47 minutes and London Blackfriars in under an hour.

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Residents will have extensive greenbelt countryside on their doorstep, and be able to take advantage of the nearby M1 motorway and A1. Luton Airport is a short 30-minute drive away.

The development, designed by Salford-based architect Leach Rhodes Walker, will include 16 affordable homes available under Shared Ownership. A construction partner is yet to be appointed for the development phase but the entire project is anticipated to complete by the end of 2024.

Vanessa Bartulovic, Planning Director (South) at MCR Property Group, said: "This will be a substantial development that improves housing stock in an extremely popular commuter location, which in past years has been voted London's top commuter town.

"We've designed these homes to be very attractive from an affordability perspective and this will put the scheme in pole position to benefit from growing interest in better value homes outside the capital, offering a taste of the countryside as well as easy access to London.

"Repeated lockdowns have prompted widespread adoption of home working and this shift is not going to be completely diminished once the pandemic subsides. Workers are embracing a new relationship with offices, and it is areas such as Bedford that are going to provide families and young professionals with the flexibility they desire. Residents will be able to escape to the country and equally feel that their central London office is within close reach."