Object

Representation ID: 6065

Received: 09/09/2021

Respondent: Ms Sharman, Mrs Banks, Huntingdon Freemen’s Charity, Mr Russell and the Rowanmoor Trustees Limited

Agent: Bidwells

2.1 Chapter 3 of the consultation document identifies that given the predicted population growth up to 2040, 171 hectares of new employment land will be required. The current supply of employment land in the District sits at 48 hectares with this meaning that 123 hectares of land needs to be allocated within the Local Plan.The Local Plan should proactively seek to provide a buffer in the level of employment land to be required in order to allow a choice in the market and a differential in suitable sites to allow for the different requirements by the market. In this regard, although Chapter 3 stipulates that there is currently a shortfall of 123 hectares of land, the Council should look to allocate additional land to provide this buffer and to meet the wider requirements of different industries. For example, a buffer of 10% should be applied and therefore the plan should be looking to allocate 135 hectares of employment land to allow for this flexibility.
2.3 As a centrally located local authority in the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, Bedford Borough should ensure that the level of growth that is to be planned in the authority should be in line with wider aspirations for the area, with the employment areas additionally fulfilling the requirements set out in the Arc Vision. It is important that the employment areas that are proposed within the chosen strategy must be in close proximity to the strategic road network to allow easy access to the research and development hubs that have been constructed in both Oxford and Cambridge.
2.4 The amount of employment land that is to be allocated is affected in part by the following factors: the aspirations of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc should be considered alongside the requirements to provide different types of employment uses including B1 and B8 land uses and cross-boundary growth. These factors reflect the need to further increase the level of employment land to be allocated.
2.5 The inclusion of sites that are close to the boundary with the neighbouring authorities would additionally lead to the residents of these authorities coming into Bedford Borough thus boosting the economic growth of the Local Authority, without increasing the demand for residential dwellings in the authority.
2.6 Therefore, the employment requirement in the Local Plan 2040 needs to plan for flexibility and the broader long-term economic aspirations for growth in the area.