Question 10
It is essential to improve the visual appearance of buildings. For example, why do filling stations, supermarkets, stations, wind turbines, factories, shops and offices built recently have to look so ugly, compared with historic buildings? Please can the council employ someone with good visual sense to insist on new buildings being BEAUTIFUL.
It's common sense to try to future proof buildings from the perspective of heat and sound insulation, water use, etc. Some of these changes are low cost to an overall cost of building a house, yet will bring benefits for generations in the future.
Yes, to achieve zero carbon footprint. See answer to question 9.
Yes - Anglian Water as a water company faces four pressing and interlinked challenges – climate change, environmental protection, population growth and the risk of drought. The scale of challenge is significant as outlined in our Water Resource Management Plan - a total regional deficit of 144 Ml/d by 2045. Anglian Water is making significant investment as part of our Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) 2019 to address the above challenges to ensure that our customers and continue to be supplied by water now and in the future. The WRMP and related documents are available to view at the following address: https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/about-us/our-strategies-and-plans/water-resources-management-plan/ Please refer to Water Resource Zone summary for Ruthamford South Water Resource Zone for further information relating to the Bedford water supply system. We are of view that there is sufficient evidence that development proposals should go beyond the optional national standard for water efficiency for housing (110 litres/per person/per day) within our company area and have advocated changes at national level to existing building regulations as part of a recent Defra consultation on personal water consumption as well as related actions on water efficient labelling. Bedford Council can assist by promoting increased water efficiency and re-use as part of development proposals in the Local Plan Review.
To reinforce the response to question 9, Wootton Parish Council considers that more should be enforced upon developers to address sustainability in the design of all developments, in particular avoiding car-dominated residential environments.
No need, but it would be good for Bedford to be known for having high standards of building and environmentally conscious properties.
Until the new house-building standards have been agreed it is difficult to comment
The requirement is to build Housing residents want to live in which they can afford. National Standards are not clear as to the implications for the types of housing which will result eg 'low carbon heating' - is what? What implications are there for cost and affordability? The other issue is build quality. Standards are fine, but if the Houses are not built properly as is often the case with the existing standards what is the benefit?
If the Borough wants to be anything other than bad to average it HAS to implement higher than national standards. They should be seen as an absolute minimum. For Bedford and surroundings to prosper in a competitive world it has to be far better than any National Standard. This is pretty tediously obvious. To attract investment of money, business, people talent the housing, transport, quality of life - all of it must be better and significantly better than higher profile towns and cities like MK, Cambridge, Oxford etc.
It would be difficult to produce guidance beyond that of national standards and enforce it. There needs to be (financial ?) encouragement to design and build to the upper end of national standards, and not accept a lower average.
No
Insufficient personal background to comment
I think any recommendation on this front is largely academic, as it will be hard to demand higher standards out of cost reducing, profit-maximising, corner-cutting housing developers. In my opinion, all new UK houses should be built with high standards than are currently required at a national level. Gardens should be considerably larger than the paving slabs that are currently acceptable, and more space needs to allocated for each households vehicles (i.e. 2-3 vehicles per house MINIMUM). the parking situation in many new estates I have visited is laughable, and I'm very glad I have no desire to park or live in them!
Same question nine responses
The national standards are fine. It would be nicer to do more but this would require a wealth of evidence to justify and may deter development coming forward.
It is all very well having standards, but they are pointless without enforcement. Too many developers have been able to get away with sub-standard work. Many recent housing developments have been shoddily constructed, not even conforming to current regulations.
no views
Make the buildings energy efficient and attractive visually. Not rows of very similar houses, use imagination so people are proud of where they live and it doesn’t become a run down eye sore.
No
No
No
They should all have solar panels and be extremly thermally efficent .
Bedford Borough lies in an “area of serious water stress” as defined by the Environment Agency – as such there is a need all development to conform to the highest levels of water conservation. There is a clear need to go beyond Government standards, which are based around achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050. Evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is that climate breakdown will have become irreversible before that date. Bedford is at particular risk of flooding and simultaneously in danger of becoming recipient of people displaced by climate impacts elsewhere. As such it is important that Bedford does as much as it can to help the planet reach carbon-neutrality as soon as possible, and should be looking to out-perform national standards. In addition, the flooding risk means that it is particularly important that the council ensures sufficient funds have been obtained from developers to assured there is long term maintenance of drainage infrastructure.
As above. Given the variety of demographics with the Borough there must be good standards for large families and multigenerational homes as well as good standard of properties for first time buyers and renters as well as befits a county town and its surrounding villages rather than following minima set for London.
Bedford Borough lies in an “area of serious water stress” as defined by the Environment Agency – as such there is a need all development to conform to the highest levels of water conservation. There is a clear need to go beyond Government standards, which are based around achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050. Evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is that climate breakdown will have become irreversible before that date. Bedford is at particular risk of flooding and simultaneously in danger of becoming recipient of people displaced by climate impacts elsewhere. As such it is important that Bedford does as much as it can to help the planet reach carbon-neutrality as soon as possible, and should be looking to out-perform national standards. In addition, the flooding risk means that it is particularly important that the council ensures sufficient funds have been obtained from developers to assured there is long term maintenance of drainage infrastructure.
No
That would depend upon what the Government standards turn out to be. I would hope for a ban on high rise buildings, with low rise developments only. Perhaps Bedford Borough Council could have a look at Norwich City Council's RIBA award winning development of Goldsmith Street with its thoughtful community and climate friendly design, reduced energy consumption, improved air quality and comfort and insist on similar.
High water efficiency standards should be introduced as the east is one of the driest areas of the country. Space requirements need to take account of greater working from home. More flexibility for employees to work from home contributes to quality of life and reducing travel. The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting measures have increased the movement towards this, it is important therefore to maintain this momentum. There is the opportunity to go beyond the national standards, incorporating a range of measures to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency, to help make the ambitious vision a reality.
No - national stands should suffice
As Above Given the variety of demographics with the Borough there must be good standards for large families and multigenerational homes as well as good standard of properties for first time buyers and renters as well as befits a county town and its surrounding villages rather than following minima set for London.