Bidwell West’s ‘Excellent’ Modeshift STARS Accreditation upgrade

The Bidwell West development in Bedfordshire has been recognised for the delivery of their Travel Plan with an upgraded Modeshift STARS ‘Excellent’ Accreditation.

Bidwell West is a large new housing development in Bedfordshire on the outskirts of Houghton Regis, near Dunstable. Eventually there will be 1850 properties on the site along including a primary school, retail outlet, community centre, sport fields and allotments. In addition, Houghton Regis Community Development Charity (HRCDC) is present on the development with a pioneer community worker living and working there and partnering with residents in a number of activities and events.

Max Oram, Travel Plan Coordinator at Central Bedfordshire Council told us:

Since achieving a ‘Very Good’ accreditation, in August 2024 the Bidwell West Travel Plan has been awarded ‘Excellent’ status.

During the summer, we teamed up with Cycle4Life to help the residents of Bidwell West build their cycling confidence. The ‘saddle up for summer’ campaign offered Led Rides, Learn to Ride sessions, and Junior Explorer rides, offering plenty of opportunities for residents with any level of cycling experience to take part, build their confidence, and grow their love for cycling.

In September 2024, we increased the frequency of the Bidwell West bus service. With this increase in frequency, we participated in Catch the Bus Month by reducing day travel tickets to £3 during September.

Since the previous case study update in March 2024, year 2 monitoring has taken place and continues to show some outstanding modal splits. Bus use has continued to increase from 35% in year 1 to 37% in year 2 (baseline 15%).

Tim Haines, Charity Director, Houghton Regis Community Development Charity comments

‘We are thrilled that the Houghton Regis North housing developments have been awarded an ‘Excellent’ accreditation by the national Travel Plan accreditation scheme. This recognition underscores the importance of robust connectivity and infrastructure in ensuring sustainable growth for new communities. It’s just the beginning of our commitment to creating well-connected, future-ready neighbourhoods that thrive.’