Wixams Coding Club

If you’re a programmer or looking to learn then you might interested in joining the Wixams Coding Club! The club started in February 2023 (with limited numbers to make things more manageable) and so far we have been learning some of the basic concepts and techniques using the BBC micro:bit computer. The micro:bit is a fantastic little device which is designed to help people learn and is packed with some amazing features like a digital compass, LED display which can display messages, light sensors, buttons, an accelerometer, a speaker, Bluetooth communications and more.

The club meets fortnightly on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm and for each session we build a new project to try out the micro:bit’s capabilities and to learn programming as we go along. It’s a fun way to learn, even for experienced programmers who want to try out something new!

We recently bought a kit which is based on Lego Technic and we’ve been exploring the projects and expending the functionality, it’s a lot of fun! We’re now on Github and you can see the sorts of things we’re up to on there: github.com/WixamsCodingClub

Minimum Age

When we started the club in February we had a mixture of age groups including children as young as 7. The kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy using the micro:bit but parents found that Thursday evenings was too late for them, especially for those that attend the after-school football club too. We also found that they need a lot longer to learn than the adults and unfortunately this meant they got a bit left behind. We have therefore decided to set a minimum age of 13 to join the club, for now at least.

Schools today are teaching programming with the micro:bit already so we feel that it’s best left to them to cover a formal syllabus so the kids have the best opportunity to learn. However we don’t want to exclude young kids completely and we may run a dedicated summer coding club in the school holidays next year if we have enough volunteers available.

Safeguarding

All under-18s need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian at all times when they’re at the club. We’re currently working out a new safeguarding policy and eventually we hope to allow teens to come unsupervised with a completed parental consent form.

How to Join

While we’re still learning the micro:bit we’re unable to welcome new members to the club on a normal evening session as they wouldn’t be able to follow along. To bring new members up to speed we have been running ‘onboarding’ sessions to introduce the club, the micro:bit device and help people create their first program. From there people can decide if they want to join the club and if so we’ll even lend out a micro:bit device to take home and play with!

If you would like to sign up to the next session please complete the form below, including any experience you have with programming, and we’ll add you to the list for the session. If this is for your child please let us know their name and age in the comments box too. The only thing you will need to bring is a laptop but you might want to bring a notebook and pen too. The Wixams Coding Club is open to people from outside Wixams too. Finally, the club is completely free to attend, we receive funding from other sources to run the club.

The next onboarding session will be on Thursday 4th April, from 7pm

    Your name:

    Your email:

    Comments and any programming experience:

    Wixams Residents’ Association

    The Wixams Residents’ Association has now been established and will publish a new website in due course.
    Some of the information on this page is now out of date.

    It’s been more than a decade since the first bricks were laid down in our lovely town and, even though Wixams is a great place to live, the journey so far has been pretty rocky. Residents have seen the plans for Wixams change a number of times and some much needed facilities removed. Below we have highlighted the key issues in Wixams and identified some cases where decisions have been made on our behalves by councillors and council officers which have sometimes gone directly against the wishes of the community.

    We think the best way to protect the remaining plans for our town is to form an independent residents’ association which can work more closely with the community to push for change, and to collaborate with parish councils and local authorities where needed.

    On this page:

    1. Wixams Station
    2. Retail Units
    3. Zebra Crossings
    4. Public Transport
    5. Highways
    6. Parking
    7. Employment
    8. Join the Committee

    You can find out more about the plans for Wixams on the Development Plans page.

    Wixams Station

    After many years of waiting the planning application for the Wixams Railway Station has now been submitted and the first trains expected in December 2024.

    Good news? Yes, but only because of the actions of some very proactive Wixamites who campaigned in 2018 when the station plans were in peril. The station had been delayed due to a funding gap and after multiple attempts by Gallagher Estates (now L&Q Estates) to find a way forward, it was clear that the station couldn’t be built without the shortfall being met. After months of campaigning Mayor Dave Hodgson finally took action and committed the tax-payer funding which meant the station could go ahead.

    You can find out more about the station from the council’s dedicated pages:

    Retail Units

    In March 2022 the Wixams Joint Development Control Committee (WJDCC) voted to remove a set of planned facilities across Wixams to help meet a funding shortfall for the primary school in Village 3. The proposals included the removal of the units in Willow Grove (Village 2) and Harrowden Green (Village 4), which would likely include a local shop and takeaways in each, similar to those in Lakeview (Village 1).

    The S106 changes removed the facilities planned for village 2, pictured above in orange

    This decision was based on arguments made by the principle planning officer for Wixams who suggested a move to internet shopping and the impacts of the pandemic mean there wouldn’t be enough demand to fill those units, as well as the 10 planned for the town centre. Questions have raised about this rationale by residents as local shops are always in need. There has also been more demand than predicted; within 24 hours of a post in our Facebook group LSP Developments received 25 enquiries from local businesses interested in leasing one of the few town centre units being offered.

    After a campaign led by the Wixams Newsletter 57 residents responded widely rejecting the removal of these key facilities. When the public objections were highlighted by Cllr Graeme Coombes to the planning officer at the meeting he simply responded with a shrug. The WJDCC voted to approve all the revisions with 5 votes in favour, 3 against and 1 abstention (full story on page 9 of Apr 2022 Wixams Newsletter).

    Zebra Crossings

    Parents have been calling for zebra crossings in multiple key locations in Wixams for many years, including on Brooklands Avenue near to Lakeview Primary, Green Lane near to Wixams Tree Primary and Bedford Road parallel with Green Lane. Early in 2022 a young girl was hit by a car on Brooklands Avenue, sustaining minor injuries, leading to her mum submitting a petition to Bedford Borough Council for crossings in Wixams. The petition was signed by 178 residents and once presented to the council led to them assuring a crossing will be installed on Green Lane as part of the extension to Wixams Tree Primary School.

    Whilst there has now been some progress, further action will likely be needed to pressure the councils to install more crossings to improve pedestrian safety (including Central Beds Council for a crossing on Meadow Road), especially for our children who are trying to get to school along our busy roads.

    Public Transport

    Bus services in Wixams are severely lacking and in the 2021 Wixams Residents Survey people asked for Sunday and late services, they also highlighted that the 44 and 81 buses often arrive at the same time.

    The good news is Stagecoach announced the 81 route will be changing to the MK1 and will include services on Sundays and public holidays. The MK1 will go from Bedford bus station and via Wixams to Luton and Luton Airport bus station, and then up the M1 to Milton Keynes.

    Unfortunately the councils have very little ability to influence the bus services due to privatisation and deregulation. However more work is needed to push for improved routes and discount schemes which would benefit those who rely on the buses.

    Highways

    In 2020 we highlighted that the creation of a logistics park in Wixams, with only one access point via The Causeway, had increased congestion and that the issue would get worse.

    The road network will have to accommodate:

    • The extra traffic generated by Wixams’ residents who work outside of the town as there are fewer employment opportunities here.
    • The extra traffic generated by the workers at the warehouses who mainly don’t live in Wixams.
    • The HGVs servicing the warehouses.
    • The traffic from neighbouring villages who will use Wixams as a rat-run to avoid Houghton Conquest and Cow Bridge near the Interchange Retail Park.
    • Residents from nearby villages, Kempston and the south of Bedford who will use the Wixams train station to commute.

    When the planning applications were submitted for the warehousing in Wixams, neither the council’s highways team nor Highways England made any comment about the ability of the roads to handle the cumulative traffic from all the warehouses. A proposal was made by Cllr Graeme Coombes for a link road to take the commercial traffic away from residents areas. Whilst this idea has a lot of support from the community it would likely be paid for by the tax payer and raises questions as to why the highways team didn’t consider the long term impacts on our roads from the outset.

    Parking

    Residents in Lakeview (Village 1) have struggled for more than a decade with the lack of parking spaces for themselves and visitors, particularly along Brooklands Avenue. This is because of legislation in place at the time of building which limited the number of spaces to an average of 1.5 per household to encourage people to use public transport. We met with L&Q Estates in September 2021 and they explained that they didn’t think this was appropriate for Wixams. They had highlighted this issue with Bedford Borough Council and recommended they request dispensation from this legislation, but the council refused.

    There are places where additional on-street parking could be created but this would be at the expense of the tax payer. However, with house prices being so high many younger residents will likely remain living with their parents but may add an extra car to the household, so the problem will only get worse and will be more expense to resolve in the long run.

    Employment

    The vast majority of jobs created in Wixams are for relatively low pay and in only one industry: Logistics. Significant progress is being made in automation which means many of the lowest paid jobs will be gone in the coming years:

    All the land originally allocated for new employment has now gone and the ‘expansion area’ has been used to build the B&M and planned Aldi distribution centres. No investment has been made in Wixams in creating workspaces such as offices for local businesses, or for national businesses which could employ local residents. No small commercial units have been created for businesses such as painters and decorators, plumbers etc which could be leased by local firms to help them thrive and grow, and which would lead to more job opportunities for residents in the future.

    The Wixams Masterplan included a new employment area and expansion area (now B&M and Aldi). Source: 11/01380/M73 Wixams Strategic Design Guide

    Representatives from Bedford Borough Council have said that some office units could be created in the town centre and near to the railway station, but this will not be enough to create a sustainable local economy. Our young residents looking for work will likely be forced to choose between low paid local work or having to commute by car or train.

    More work is needed to pressure the councils to create more sustainable employment opportunities for our new town.

    Join the Committee

    This is just a selection of some of the issues and challenges residents in Wixams have faced over the last decade. To help resolve some of these problems and to try and prevent the loss of yet more facilities the community will need to work together to help make Wixams a town we can all enjoy for many years.

    We need committee members to help run this group and to work on behalf of other residents. If you’ve never been on a committee before it’s easier than it sounds and won’t take up a lot of your time. These are lots of different roles and activities you can take part in:

    • Attending meeting with councillors, developers and other stakeholders.
    • Attending parish council meeting to stay up to date with developments (predominantly Wixams and Houghton Conquest PCs).
    • Looking into plans and planning application to find out what’s being proposed.
    • Help to run a Facebook group/page or other social media channels to share news.
    • Write content for email newsletters.
    • Run the committee itself as chair, secretary or treasurer.

    Please use the form below if you’re interested in joining the Wixams Residents’ Association committee:

      Your name:

      Your email:

      🧶 Wixams Yarnbombers 🧵

      If you’ve never heard of Yarn Bombing you’re in good company, we hadn’t either. But after a suggestion and a donation from Barratt/David Wilson Homes to set up a group in Wixams we agreed it would be a great way to bring people together to do something crafty, fun and a great way to decorate our town!

      In March 2022 after a request in our Facebook group we had over 20 people volunteer to join! The group met in early April and over a 6 week period they worked together to create a wonderful show for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. They created a central display with lots of bunting, paperchains, trellises with lots of flowers and creatures, and even a little Queen with her corgi sat on a throne!! 👸🐕 They also created a separate display for the outside of the Willow Grove marketing suite on Southern Cross, with grey (platinum) and purple wool. We think it adds a touch of class and is a great way to honour the Queen’s 70 years as our monarch.

      The group created 384 links for the paperchains, 185 bunting flags, 137 flowers, 11 ’70’ crown rings, 5 flower rings and 21 tree swizzlers. Impressive work!!

      Remembrance Project

      After the huge success of the Jubilee project the group have decided to create a display for this year’s Remembrance Day. This will include lots of crocheted or knitted poppies and the group would also like to raise money for the Poppy Appeal.

      If you’d like to take part in this project please use the form at the bottom of the page to find out how you can get involved.

      Get Involved

      If you’ve never knitted or crocheted before that’s no problem, it’s easy to learn and the group has lots of people who can help you to learn at your own pace. The group is very positive and supportive of all members, and it’s a great way to meet people in the community. Any contribution is welcomed, no matter how small.

      Please fill in your details below if you’d like to join the group or find out more:

        Your name:

        Your email:

        A new Facebook has been created, please feel free to join to stay up to date with the group’s activities: Wixams Yarn Bombers

        Photography Club Logo Website

        Wixams Photography Club

        Welcome to the Wixams & Wilstead Photography Club. We are an online community on Facebook for everyone in our two communities who love photography. Join us if you would like to share your images captured in and around our delightful villages. Other members of the community who join the group can then enjoy different views of our area including its lakes, birds, sunsets, flowers, gardens…there is so much on offer that looks great through the lens!

        Anyone can join, no matter the ability. We welcome photos taken with your phone, a digital or a professional camera. Please also feel free to join if you simply enjoy looking at great photos from the Wixams & Wilstead communities.

        Please click the link below to join:

        www.facebook.com/groups/wixamsphotographyclub

        Wixams Walkers Logo

        Wixams Walkers

        As part of our ongoing efforts to bring the community together, we run the Wixams Walkers group, part of the national Wellbeing Walks scheme. The group is aimed at all ages and abilities and simply gives an opportunity for residents to get some exercise, meet people and to explore parts of Wixams they might not yet have seen.

        Wixams Walkers meets each Saturday at 11, in front of Seasons Garden Centre on Bedford Road. After each walk, all are invited into Seasons for a cuppa. There’s no need to register or join, we’re very casual and we welcome new walkers even if you can only attend from time to time.

        Routes

        There are currently 6 main routes in and around Wixams which are all around 2 miles /3 km and take 45 minutes to an hour:

        Difficulty

        We normally split into two groups, a fast group and a slower group. For some of the routes the fast group goes a little further. If you’re a beginner or just trying to get back into shape please do come along, we don’t leave anyone behind.

        Excursions

        During the summer, we will be exploring more of Bedfordshire by walking in the local country parks. In July 2019 we visited Woburn Abbey Deer park, a beautiful open space which is home to 9 species of deer. We also visited Millennium Country Park in August and Priory Country Park in September.

        Stay in Touch

        You can stay up to date with our plans on our Facebook page or you can get in touch using the Contact page (select Wixams Community Group).

        Other Walking Groups

        You can find out about other Wellbeing Walks in the area from the below walk programmes: