Object

Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan - Strategy options and draft policies consultation

Representation ID: 6072

Received: 09/09/2021

Respondent: Countryside Properties

Agent: Phillips Planning Services

Representation Summary:

4.1 The settlement of Great Barford was included in many of the options (2d, 3b, 3c, 4, 6, and 7) in the Issues And Options Consultation June 2020, with many of the options allocating 500 dwellings to the settlement in the next plan period; with option 2d identifying some growth to the area but no specifics.

4.2 As Great Barford is only now included in one of the four options being consulted upon – Option 2d, we must raise objection and highlight that the exclusion of strategic growth of Great Barford is a missed opportunity; and that the reasoning given in the sustainability appraisal for discounting this level of growth are considered superficial and indicate an underlying bias towards urban centric growth.

4.3 It is important to note that many of the options were not discounted due to issues with allocating growth to Great Barford itself, but because there are considered to be issues with the overall strategy in those particular options. For example, Option 7 was discounted because the required level of growth cannot be achieved. It is therefore crucial that Great Barford is not discounted as a suitable settlement for growth simply because it happened to be one element of an overall strategy in options which are considered to be less desirable. We would strongly contend that the sustainability credentials of Great Barford should be considered on its own individual merits.

4.4 Great Barford is a Key Service Centre and a sustainable settlement in a major strategic location on the Oxford To Cambridge Arc. It is an ideal location for delivering further strategic growth in this Local Plan Review. Countryside are delivering other strategic sites within the Oxford to Cambridge arc such as at Bourn airfield (3500 new homes) and have experience of working with a range of stakeholders to address cross boundary matters.

4.5 Option 2d in the consultation is the only option which includes all of the A421 corridor on the Oxford To Cambridge Arc. Given the Government’s objectives for the arc and the strategic importance of this location, and the fact that Great Barford is the most sustainable settlement in the eastern parishes, it is considered crucial that it be included in the final strategy taken forward