Object

Representation ID: 10451

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Conservative Group

Agent: Bedford Borough Councillor

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

As we have said in our response to the Draft Plan: Strategy Options and Draft Policies consultation we believe the consultation process referred to in Para 1.4 of the Introduction to the Draft Plan was flawed by the absence of the full range of options from the only document, the Development Strategy Topic Paper, that would have been seen by the majority of residents.
We have previously commented on the absurdity of not permitting the Council to delay the preparation of this plan until the long promised but still delayed Spatial Framework for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc has been published. We remain of that view and do not share the Councils apparent confidence (1.16) that the implications for economic growth and strategic housing will be unaffected should the Framework ever emerge.
We are equally sceptical about the significant dependence of the plan on the eventual completion of the proposed EWR to Cambridge (1.23-1.28). At the time of writing the future of this part of EWR looks at best uncertain yet several irreversible fundamental aspects of the plan are predicated on the existence of the railway.