Our plans
Now
We’ll renew and enhance the Mill and the two Barns (listed buildings), in line with best conservation practice.
A new building in keeping with the heritage will replace the old workshop, and we’ll refurbish the Mill House. We plan to reconstruct the Back Barn at an angle to allow easier parking on site. The Mill will have a glass-fronted area by the millpond for a café. No other buildings.
About 70 car and coach parking spaces on site will be more than enough to meet morning, afternoon and evening demand, which traffic surveys and modelling show will not add significantly to local traffic flows at peak times.
Many employees with disabilities will travel to and from the site by minibus, and a sustainable ‘green’ travel policy will minimise the use of cars by other staff.
Development timeline
The Bromham Millers' capital investment and the ventures we run will help to sustain the local economy should the recession continue.
Changes over time
When we bid for the lease of Bromham Mill, in early 2006, we drew a picture with a lot of detail about ventures that would draw in the crowds and provide jobs for people with learning and autistic disabilities. This vision won the tender against brewers who wanted to turn the Mill House into a popular pub. We worked up our ideas to give life to our vision, and we began to consult widely with people in Bromham, the nearby villages and across Bedford.
It became clear that we’d caused a lot of people to worry about heavy traffic around the Mill, and the chances that visitors would park in nearby streets; about no longer having a quiet, rural amenity; about the risks to the wildlife and the rare plants; about activity close to Millfield. So we made changes.
In the latter half of 2008, we took out all the ventures that would bring visitors to Bromham in large numbers: the extended range of events on the meadow, the conference centre and the farmers’ market. Under our cut-down plans, the visitor numbers will be much the same as when the Mill was open all week in the 1990s: only a small fraction of the often quoted ‘300,000 a year’.
Conservation officers are advising us; they’ve done so all along, to make sure that we keep the Mill’s fine heritage qualities; that we retain its character and appearance. The Centre for Heritage Policy at York University has helped us to bring in uses that are in total harmony with the heritage, and which will create an amenity for the whole community.
The Mill from the road
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We’ve taken expert advice on the:
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- trees
- ecology
- landscape
- milling equipment
- impact on traffic
- conservation
Our plans also include detailed flood risk assessment and protection. We’ll avoid intrusive noise, and we'll be a good neighbour.
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