and reduces journey times for long-distance traffic. Woodside Link The A5505 Woodside Link opened on 13 April 2017. It connects the Woodside Estate industrial area of Dunstable and Houghton Regis to Junction 11a of the M1 motorway. The road will also provide access to a new development area north and east of Houghton Regis, where 5,150 new homes are to be built and 30 hectares of employment land are to be developed by 2031. Central Bedfordshire Council delivered the £38.3m road scheme with contributions of £20m from SEMLEP's Local Growth Deal, £5m from the UK government's Local Pinch Point Fund and £1m of developer contributions. Construction started in spring 2015. Houghton Regis North Framework Plan (HRN1) This plan includes a proposed north of Houghton Regis urban extension of 6,950 homes and 83 ha of employment land by 2026 with potential for a further 4,050 homes and 17 ha employment land. In addition, further development is proposed within the existing urban area. (for the reference link, scroll to item 8 of the agenda). Within the Framework Plan, the Houghton Regis Development Consortium are planning for 5,150 homes, employment, retail, infrastructure, community, facilities and leisure on cultivated farmland north of Tithe Farm estate and to the east of Parkside estate. Bidwell West Consortium Group (HRN2) This plan includes an urban extension of Houghton Regis, situated north of Houghton Regis Chalk Quarry, west of Bedford Road, east of the A5, and south of the A5-M1 link road. It will provide up to 1850 new homes, a primary school, employment land and a local centre. In mid-2018 ECL Civil Engineering was contracted by Bidwell Land Ownership Group, a consortium of local landowners, to deliver the strategic Infrastructure and section 278 works necessary to develop the site which will eventually accommodate nearly 2000 new homes. Politics Houghton Regis Town Council has 14 elected councillors who receive no remuneration. Elections are held every 4 years. Central Bedfordshire came into being on 1 April 2009. The first-ever elections for Central Bedfordshire took place on 4 June, when the three wards of Houghton Regis were won by the Liberal Democrats. Freedom of the Town The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Houghton Regis. Individuals Robin Hines, Mayor of Houghton Regis 2010-2011: 23 November 2017. Mrs. Beryl Morton, Houghton Regis Horticulturist: 13 October 2018. Jabez Inwards (1817-1880), popular Victorian temperance lecturer and