Object

Representation ID: 10402

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Orchestra Land

Agent: Arrow Planning Limited

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Plan Period
2.19 Turning to the matter of Plan length, Mr R S contends that the Plan Period should run to 2050. A period to 2040 is only 10 years beyond the existing Local Plan and is not a sufficiently long enough extension to effect real change.
2.20 As the Council will be aware, strategic growth and development, along with wide scale change, takes many years to deliver. Sites take a long time to plan correctly and then commence delivery, and thus a longer Plan Period should be allowed for.
2.21 Furthermore, by extending to 2050, this would bring the Plan in line with others in the Arc, such as the MK2050 Vision and the Oxford 2050 Plan. Given the strategic and important role that Bedford Borough plays within the Arc, it would represent ‘good planning’ and a holistic approach to align the Local Plan Period with those other areas. The next review of the Local Plan would then not need to extend the Plan Period, but instead revise housing and employment growth to reflect the latest position as relevant at that time.