Save Flitwick Mill

Mid Beds Council Development Control Committee turned down the planning application to convert Flitwick Mill into a domestic dwelling on Wednesday 14th January 2009. This gives The Flitwick Preservation Group (Friends of Flitwick Mill) the opportunity to develop their proposals further and also to involve residents more fully.

The support shown from present and former residents of Flitwick and the surrounding area, by signing this petition, has made a huge difference to the campaign where we were able to submit 214 signatures to the Mid Beds Development Control Committee. We shall continue to collect signatures via the e-petition and a paper petition to support the restoration of the mill for local community use.

It is envisaged that, once restored, there is the capacity for the Mill to serve as a heritage centre and visitor attraction encompassing; demonstrations of milling and renewable energy technology, educational activities for local schools and adults, an information centre for visitors to Flitwick and Flitton Moors, local community facilities with meeting rooms, exhibition/gallery space, office space and a tea room.

Flitwick Mill is one of the few remaining buildings of historic significance in Flitwick. There are references to a water mill on the site in the Doomsday Book. It is now the only surviving water mill on the River Flit, with features that make it locally and nationally unique.

Flitwick Mill was designated Listed Grade II in 1961, when it was still a working mill meeting the needs of local farmers, milling continued until the 1980s. Much of the machinery still remains intact and provides a remarkable and unique record of the evolution of milling practice over the last 200 years.

Recent surveys of the fabric of the building confirm that it is deteriorating rapidly. Water from the mill race is running through the walls and causing serious damage. The building has not been maintained to an appropriate standard, as required for a listed building. Flitwick Preservation Group are calling upon Mid Bedfordshire District Council to ensure that the emergency repairs are carried out as soon as possible.

Additionally the Flitwick Preservation Group see the mills future firmly set in the context of its immediate surroundings and the catchment area of the River Flit as a whole. The Mill is situated on the outskirts of Flitwick close to Flitwick Moor, a nationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the heart of the Flit Valley. The moor is owned severally, although the majority is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust. This is a superb, but fragile wetland, created by a combination of peat cutting and the naturally iron-rich groundwater bubbling up to the surface from springs.