Support

Representation ID: 10276

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Ms Alison Field-Foster

I am sending this as my individual response to the Local Plan consultation.

I believe that the submission version of the Local Plan 2040 is well drafted and, although cannot comment on whether it is legally compliant and sound.

I do support the strategy whereby the initial focus for growth is in the urban area, which I consider to be the most sustainable location for growth. I am pleased that it also includes
two new settlements, one at Kempston Hardwick, and one at Little Barford. I believe these new settlements will create new sustainable communities along the A421 transport corridor which offers good and accessible growth opportunities. Growth along this corridor should be encouraged.

I am pleased that the focus of the Local Plan is on ensuring that new development is supported by new infrastructure, including green infrastructure and also to see that development will help to bring forward the new water sports lake at Bedford River Valley Park to the east of Bedford at Willington along with other development at this important site.

The draft Plan also recognises the challenge that town centres face and importantly includes policies that would permit more residential properties in the town centre to help support existing and new town centre businesses and reduce the use of motor vehicles in the town centre and, that policies provide for an enhancement of the cultural offer.

I believe it is important the Plan also focuses on encouraging high-skilled employment opportunities alongside housing development, with up to 26,700 jobs planned at several sites across the borough. These employment sites are being allocated where they have good connectivity, including by rail, along the A421 corridor and the A1 close to the Black Cat Roundabout.

I am pleased the draft plan outlines the distribution of growth by location and takes into account existing commitments. This factors in the growth envisaged by adopted neighbourhood plans in rural areas, and it recognises that some Parish Councils with existing neighbourhood plans may choose to allocate further sites for development in their neighbourhood plans to meet particular local needs in the future.

I am concerned that the Government Guidance on the Standard Method for assessing housing need and calculating the housing target upon which the plan is based puts Bedford Borough in a difficult position whereby we are obliged to builds more houses than the Borough actually needs. The government’s insistence that local planning authorities calculate housing targets through a formula that uses out of date data from the Office for National Statistics has a huge impact on the calculation of housing need for Bedford Borough and results in a massively inflated and unjustified target for future housing growth in this draft plan.

I do support the draft Local Plan although I should point out that this does not mean that I support the proposed route for East West Rail, which I do not.

I would like to thank you and your team for all the hard work you have put in to preparing this document.