Question 2

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More vision on the Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway please

The vision seems clear and ambitious.

Its fine

None

I think it is important that the rural areas of the borough are protected as much as possible and that development focuses on brownfield sites and regeneration, as well as the development opportunities afforded by the proposed black cat to Caxton gibbet road development and the rail route when that is set

no

No, looks good.

Typical nonsense 'woke' words (celebrate/embrace/sustainable/rich ecology etc) - all sounds very hip, but why has it taken 60 years then to finally provide Bedford with something 'well planned', 'vibrant', 'more attractive' and 'improving the quality of life'. These visions have failed from the 60's onwards so just using some select 'cool' words I'm sure will make no difference in this past lack of 'vision'. You will still plan and build disasters. What a shame Bedford can't build on its Victorian heritage and design the attractive and delightful terraces and houses we see in Castle Road - an area where people want to move to because it is pretty with robust large-windowed houses and pretty squares, parks, allotments and gardens. A opposed to the 70/80s dullness of the Brickhill estates. And with an extra million houses I'm not sure how you can say the place will be 'greener' - seems like an oxymoron to me. I'm all for expanding and protecting the countryside for as much as possible and stopping urban sprawl around Bedford - so we need more landscaped parks, and the opening up of new parks and walkways along the River Great Ouse would be wonderful and expanding Priory Park to at least Willington if not further.

There is no mention about commercialisation and supporting communities and local businesses. Bedford and the great Ouse has both opportunities to attract residents and visitors and we have a wealth of history that could be celebrated more.

This is a commendable draft vision - let's hope it can be managed! Perhaps the only thing missing is waste disposal - reducing single use packaging and improving recycling.

Need an organised group with a mixture of experienced staff, learning staff, observers and stakeholders in the breeding, maintenance, transport and reallocation of animals who have maintained facilities to work from. Some in isolated locations and others in more public, easily accessible ones.

Well thought out and presented. Clear options with pros and cons well documented.

I am concerned that, so far as I can see, road traffic flow management does not seem to feature much on the vision. Bedford is a conduit for traffic north to south and realistically that is not going to change. Traffic through Bedford is artificially low at the moment due to home working and the Cover-19 effect on schools but will return to normal levels in due course. Closing a lane of the High Street is not going to make Bedford easier to drive around or work in. I'm equally concerned about any development north of the town and the lack of road capacity to support further development. Oakley and Sharnbrook already have bottlenecks and its hard to see how traffic from development in Thurleigh, ostensibly an obvious site can be supported.

No

1. More protection for the green spaces and village boundaries should be a focus. The Vision is too Bedford-centric with all the right messages being giving about the town centre but only lip service to the beautiful villages which will lose their identity - to the overall detriment of the whole borough - should their boundaries and identities be compromised by inappropriate development 2. The world is now a different place given COVID-19. People will want to work where they live so little point in developing homes in rural areas and increasing need for car and rail travel. 3. Business and commercial premises will have low/reduced occupancy due to work from home being popular. These premises should be developed into new homes

Whilst attempts have been made to simplify the document it would be helpful to include names on the various maps and then local inhabitants could see whether the proposed developments could impact directly on them. Other than "Bedford" no other place names are included. Can you also confirm whether the leaflets have been issued in other languages?

Good

The retention of the Golf Course at Great Denham

NO

SEE ABOVE

The draft vision is good but what is missing are the full set of Neighbourhood Plans covering all parishes so this should be recognised and some support and pressure put in place to deliver Neighbourhood Plans for all areas. The Arc vision remains somewhat nebulous but is driving change. I think the scale of housing is too vague as numbers could vary between 9000 to 21000 - that is a 100% variation and should be made more specific and not simply accepted at the highest level. The vision covers growth - the re-purposing of the town centre. This must be about answering the question "why would I come into Bedford, Northampton or Wellingborough. If it is not retail than what are the selling points that will drive development and improvement. Can retail be changed into greenspace? Quality, quality, quality is key as is the REAL recognition of climate change, REAL standards, delivered and maintained and a clear differentiation between centres and out-of-town.

I support the proposal as Bedford Town is in great need of support. Rural communities require a younger population to support the local schools and they would not need to go outside of the catchment area to fill places. Rural areas have become only for a certain salary banding and an ageing population. There is great disparity in the value of houses available with 6, 5 and 4 bed properties taking up 90% of availability. There is a disproportion and 2 -3 bed properties are in much smaller quantities making it impossible for a younger families to be able to afford to live in villages and support the lack of children required to fill schools. This will mean that schools will eventually close and there will be a loss of historic culture of a rural community. Villages need a younger demographic.

Rather than "green spaces" there needs to be a focus on an integrated green infrastructure that exists throughout Bedford Borough, rather than in isolated, discrete spaces.

Para. 6 seems to indicate that rural communities development can only be done via Neighbourhood Plans. What if a village doesn't have a plan or want to produce one. How will development be addressed in these villages. Suggest adding wording to say either via Neighbourhood plans or by working with rural locations via the Local Plan 2040.

All development should be contained to major urban areas and in particular brownfield sites

It should include the aim of connecting natural areas so as to create nature recovery networks. If our wildlife is to cope with and adapt to climate change, it needs to be able to move through the landscape. So isolated pockets of biodiversity need to be joined up, eg by the valley of the Great Ouse and other natural corridors. This is likely to be required by the Environment Act, but even if it isn't, Bedford Borough should lead the way with a vision of natural networks.

Sustainable food production is essential ==> don't build on fields! Must 'go green' - build with environmental/renewable/sustainable things right from the start. Very important to have transport links and other infrastructure working before people move in. Good to improve High Street and town centre. Must protect rural areas from over development. Linking green and blue spaces is necessary.

No

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