Seven-day parking limits for Southcourt Road and Avenue in Linslade go for a decision on 1 October. Church Avenue's school-run petition is on the same agenda.
Parking limits on Southcourt Road and Southcourt Avenue in Linslade would run seven days a week under plans going for a decision next Thursday, 1 October.
Council officers have also dropped a softer version of the scheme. They made that change after most replies to a summer consultation objected to it.
The item is on the agenda of Central Bedfordshire Council’s Traffic Management Meeting at 6.30pm on Thursday 1 October. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at Priory House, Shefford. The same agenda carries a residents’ petition about parking on Church Avenue in Leighton Buzzard.
What is proposed for Southcourt
The scheme combines two traffic orders, TRO-044 and TRO-048, into one plan. The officers’ report asks the executive member to approve it and make the order.
In short, the plan would:
- put no waiting at any time (double yellow lines) around the junctions
- extend the existing timed limits to two hours a day, across the full week
- keep seven-day, 7am to 7pm limits on the bend outside Nos 18 to 30
- leave the unrestricted parking outside Nos 39 to 45 Southcourt Avenue unchanged
Officers say the plans on the consultation drawing for Nos 39 to 45 were “misleading”. The report says the order itself “does not include any alterations to this area”.
The council gave its reasons in a letter to residents dated 21 July, which is attached to the report. They include road safety at junctions and on bends, and “commuter parking associated with the nearby railway station, which occurs throughout the week, including weekends”. Southcourt is a short walk from Leighton Buzzard station, which is on the Linslade side of the river.
The plan’s key marks the stretches with a two-hour weekday-and-weekend limit. One band is 10am to 12pm, which the July letter confirms. A second band appears on the drawing as 2pm to 4pm. The drawing in the public papers is a low-resolution scan, so check the timings against the signs once any order is made.
The bend outside Nos 18 to 30
This stretch has had the most argument, and it has now come full circle.
According to the July letter, the current restriction there is no waiting Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm. The first plan made that seven days a week.
That first plan went to the Traffic Management Meeting on 31 March 2026. Councillors deferred it so officers could rework the timings with the ward councillors. The reworked version, sent to residents in July, cut the bend to a two-hour limit, 10am to 12pm, to match the rest of the road.
Residents on the bend did not want it relaxed. The report says objections “focused on visibility, road safety, and vehicle maneuverability”. Officers concluded “there is insufficient support for the proposed relaxation of restrictions at this location”. They now recommend it reverts to the restriction first advertised, which the July letter gives as no waiting Monday to Sunday, 7am to 7pm.
The two documents disagree on the street name for this stretch. The report calls it Nos 18 to 30 Southcourt Road; the July letter calls it the bend on Southcourt Avenue between No 18 and No 30. The drawing shows the bend where the two roads meet.
What residents said, and a mismatch in the figures
The follow-up consultation drew 18 responses. The report gives two different breakdowns of them:
| Where in the report | Support | Objections | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Key information”, paragraph 4 | 10 | 3 | 5 |
| “Consultation responses”, paragraph 10 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
Both add up to 18. Paragraph 10 is the one that matches the officers’ own account, that most responses objected to relaxing the bend. The report does not explain the other set of figures.
Some respondents also worried that drivers would simply move into Rock Lane and nearby roads. Officers accept that displacement “is a common consequence of waiting restrictions”. They say there are “no plans to extend these restrictions into neighbouring roads”.
The work would be paid for from the council’s 2026/27 capital budget.
Church Avenue: a school-run petition
The same meeting will receive a paper petition signed by 23 people. It asks for a formal review of parking and road safety on Church Avenue, LU7 1AD.
The residents’ supporting evidence describes a narrow cul-de-sac next to Pulford Lower School. It is close to Leighton Middle School and backs onto Parson’s Close Recreation Ground and its splash park.
Their own measurements are:
- carriageway width: 4.90m
- road left beside parked cars: 2.85m
- marked bay lengths: 3.85m to 4.70m, and bay width 2.03m
They point to the council’s On-Street Parking Management Strategy, which they say calls for a 3m corridor for emergency and service vehicles. The 2.85m they measured is less than that.
The petition asks the council to:
- carry out a formal review of the parking layout
- check whether the marked bays still suit the road and modern cars
- consider removing, moving or redesigning bays that block driveways or views
- consult residents before changing anything
The agenda lists the petition “to receive”. No officer report on Church Avenue is attached, so no decision on the street is being asked for on Thursday.
What it means for you
- If you live on Southcourt Road or Southcourt Avenue: if the recommendation is approved, parking on the bend would be restricted on Sundays too. The two-hour limits elsewhere would also run every day.
- If you park there for the train: the council’s stated aim is to cut commuter parking, including at weekends. See our Leighton Buzzard parking guide and train times to London for the station car park and alternatives.
- If you want to speak: the agenda says members of the public register through the council’s online register-to-speak form. The meeting is hybrid. To speak remotely on Teams, you must register at least two clear working days before, which means by Monday 28 September.
- To watch: the council films the meeting for its webcast library.
The decision is not final until it is taken on Thursday. We will report what is decided.
Sources: Central Bedfordshire Council, Traffic Management Meeting agenda, 1 October 2026; TRO-044 and TRO-048 officers’ report, with the letter to residents of 21 July 2026 and the revised plan; Church Avenue petition and supporting documentation.
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