Polish club learns of demolition via social media

Tony Wereszczynski has been visiting Dom Polski since he was 10 years old

A club that learnt its building could be demolished via social media has described the news as an "absolute bombshell".

East West Rail (EWR) has said ten further properties could be demolished as part of its plans to connect Cambridge and Oxford with a railway, with a stop in Bedford.

Tony Wereszczynski, chairman of Dom Polski on Ashburnham Road, condemned EWR's "unprofessional" conduct and inconsistent communication regarding plans.

An EWR spokesperson said: "We have offered our sincerest apologies to the Dom Polski Club for the way they heard about our updated design proposals."

The continued: "We are very disappointed to have not been able to update them ourselves as intended.

"We recognise the enormous strength of feeling about the importance of the Dom Polski Club and we are in the process of arranging meetings with the owners, so we can properly explain our plans and offer our help and support through this process.

"We are of course also reaching out in a similar way to other affected residents and businesses in the area."

Several properties on Ashburnham Road could be demolished as part of East West Rail's plans to expand Bedford station

Dom Polski was opened in 1962 by General Wladyslaw Anders for Polish people displaced from the Soviet Union.

Mr Wereszczynski attended the opening when he was a 10-year-old boy and grew up at the centre, attending Polish school on weekends.

He estimates there are 8,000 Polish people living in the area today and the venue is used for weddings, christenings, funerals and Christmas parties.

"It is booked solidly all the time for family use, not just for the Polish community, but other ethnics also utilise this and we welcome that very much," Mr Wereszczynski said.

"It's a very important centre. The Polish consul and embassy in London utilise these premises for both formal and informal functions. They've taken great interest in them as it is a very vibrant centre."

Mr Wereszczynski accused the East West Rail project of spending years "flip-flopping around" as to whether the building would be demolished or not.

"I found out yesterday from social media and from the employees of this building. Now how shocking is that? We've had no formal notification. No discussion.

"It's the unprofessionalism of the way they've conducted themselves, not just now, but through the years that we've been involved with consultations with them."

He said it will take years to recreate the history of the club elsewhere if it were to move, but added: "Polish people are fighters and they don't give up... I'm sure it will rise from the ashes somewhere else."