Furious locals are facing new-build hell amid plans to turn their sleepy village into a megacity to give Labour a boost in its bid to create millions of new homes.
The proposal, put forward by a thinktank, looks to dramatically increase the population of Tempsford, Bedfordshire, from 600 to as many as 350,000 people.
UKDayOne described it as ‘probably the best-connected greenfield site in Britain’ for the Labour Government to build on to help fulfil its housing targets.
The New Towns for New Britain report highlights the opportunity as it would sit at the intersection of the East Coast Main Line and the planned East-West Rail line.
Villagers say the plans are a ‘joke’ and have threatened to move away if it comes to fruition as it could turn the ‘beautiful little village’ – where locals rejoice to see deer and rabbits roaming around – into a town bigger than Cambridge.
Many outraged residents said the new homes would ‘decimate everything’ in their ‘wonderful’ rural paradise.
It comes after The Deputy Prime Minister, who is spearheading the Government’s bid to deliver 1.5million new homes over the next five years, rubbished claims that they want to ‘concrete over’ the countryside.
Villagers like Mark Cleary, 58, (pictured) say the plans are a ‘joke’ and have threatened to move
The New Towns for New Britain report highlights the opportunity as it would sit at the intersection of the East Coast Main Line and the planned East-West Rail line
Villagers say the plans are a ‘joke’ that could decimate their ‘beautiful little village’
The village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire where there are plans to build new homes
The quiet village is picturesque with old cottages and pretty houses
The village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire, where new homes are planned to be built
The village includes a quiet children’s playground on a grassy area
It comes as Labour pledges to build a generation of new towns with ‘beautiful buildings’
The village is split between the A1 making the two parts each their own distinctive halves, but may become the size of a city on the border of Cambridgeshire.
Tempsford resident Mark Cleary, 58 said: ‘It is a complete joke.
‘There’s nothing wrong with a few new houses but to turn a village with historic connections to the Doomsday book into a city is mad.
‘I cycle for miles every day and I see all of the wildlife, deer, rabbits – it’s wonderful.
‘I’ve got sympathy for the need for new homes but to expand here is crazy.’
The European sales director added: ‘It’s wrong. We’d have to move as it just isn’t why we decided to live here.
‘I bet the government haven’t thought about the different types of housing needed, or have any plans for doctors or dentists.
‘Labour shouldn’t be wasting their time with building houses around here when there’s much better things to be focusing on.’
Stanley Birkin-Walls, 17, has lived in Tempsford all his life.
The college student said: ‘I expect to have moved out of my parent’s house before these houses are built but otherwise I would want to move.
‘When I was younger me and my mates were bike on the bridleways and green lanes for hours and it was great.
‘I think it would be good for a few more things around here, at the moment we don’t even have a shop.
‘But I wouldn’t want to live in a city all the way out here. I don’t think my parents do either.’
Paulette Smith, 64, has lived in Tempsford since 1996, and said it didn’t really matter what she thought as the ‘big boys’ always got their way.
The village of Tempsford where there are plans to build new homes increasing the population to 350,000
The village features lots of greenery and picturesque cottages
A church in the village of Tempsford where there are plans to build new homes
The village of Tempsford where there are plans to build new homes increasing the population to 350,000
An area of greenery in the village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire
Angela Rayner has rubbished ‘nonsense’ claims Labour wants to ‘concrete over’ the countryside as she unveiled her plans for a fresh generation of new towns
People sit on the banks of the River Cam and lawns of King’s College in Cambridge
She said: 'The big boys come in and do it anyway, no matter how much we shout and scream about it.
'It doesn't matter what government it is, they're all the same.
'I just can't envision more than quarter of a million houses in this beautiful little village.
'They'd need a GP, a dentist, schools and a shop and we don't even have that now - all we've got is a farm shop.'
Mrs Smith, a retired theatre assistant from the NHS, added: 'They should use empty homes. The city centres are dead even Bedford.
'They just want to plough down fields.'
David Sutton is the chairman of the Parish Council in Tempsford and said stories of new developments crop up every few years.
Mr Sutton, 50, said: 'It's not: 'not in my backyard', it's 'not everything in my backyard'.
'This will decimate everything by making Tempsford as big as Milton Keynes and Cambridge together.
'We understand that Cambridge and Oxford need new homes but we're too small a village to say no to anything. We've got no voice, no power and those in charge don't care.'
Angela Rayner confirmed Labour's reforms are set to include rebranding some green belt land as 'grey belt', which is deemed to be poor quality, for building houses
Mr Sutton lives in a home dating back to at least 1560 and says preserving history in Tempsford is as important as anywhere else.
He added: 'We're not against a bit of sustainable development but you can't throw away all of our history at once to build on it.
'You shouldn't be able to take all of this away without consequences. We don't want to be the next Milton Keynes.'
'The new government are desperate to build 1.5million houses as quickly as possible just throwing everything at a rural community that struggles with flooding and its sewage network every winter.
'[Tempsford] has no shop other than a farm shop open a few days a week, no schools, no pubs but an amazing community of residents that have built fantastic friendships and grown their families here for many many years and who will see it all destroyed in one foul swoop.
'Tempsford and the entire area around it is under threat. Using tens of thousands of acres of arable land when we are already struggling as a country with food security seems crazy.'
Maureen Goddard, 66, said supposed plans for the 350,000 homes were 'dreadful.'
The proud housewife said: 'We're a village and we want it to remain a village.
'I hope I don't see it in my lifetime. It's awful. I'm all for progress but we don't need any more houses here, I just despair.
'We're lucky we haven't had many housing developments and I've lived here 40 years. Life is just too busy nowadays.'
The plans were put forward by UKDayOne, which describes itself as a 'non-partisan initiative dedicated to supercharging UK growth and progress'.
The Deputy PM, pictured at a development site in Basingstoke, is spearheading the Government's bid to deliver 1.5m new homes over the next five years
The 'Tempsford New Town' would be 45 minutes from central London, where the housing crisis is the most intense, 20 minutes from Cambridge and under an hour from Oxford.
The report claimed there is an 'exceptionally strong case' for building the supertown and it has 'every prospect of becoming a major economic centre'.
MailOnline has approached UKDayOne for comment.
It comes as Labour pledges to build a generation of new towns with 'beautiful buildings and tree-lined streets'.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced changes to the planning system to boost housebuilding.
These include the restoration of mandatory local housebuilding targets.
Angela Rayner confirmed Labour's reforms are set to include rebranding some green belt land as 'grey belt', which is deemed to be poor quality, for building houses.
The government said half of all homes on such sites should be classed as affordable and it would require plans to improve existing green spaces and create new ones.
But county councils pushed back, warning: 'Housing targets should not be overwhelmingly allocated, or re-allocated, to county and rural areas.'
Labour announced the measures in a bid to tackle the ongoing housing crisis in the UK, with soaring rents and unaffordable homes.
The new Government blasted the existing planning system as a 'major brake' on economic growth and pledged reforms.
Tory leader Rishi Sunak recently lashed out at Labour's bid to overhaul the planning system as he warned against denying local people a say on new developments.
The ex-PM said the Government's plans will 'damage public consent for more housing in the long-term'.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government declined to comment.
