Object

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

Representation ID: 6366

Received: 13/09/2021

Respondent: CPRE Bedfordshire

Representation Summary:

Paras 1.7 to 1.10 - OBJECT
Para 1.7 states that the Joint Declaration is ‘silent on the numbers’, but this is inconsistent with para 1.6 which reports the government’s ambition to deliver one million new homes by 2050. The fact is that the Government apparently no longer wishes to mention the fact that it has an ambition to build one million new homes across the Arc. This appears to be because to say so is now toxic as the public begin to realise what one million homes really means, i.e., 20 cities the size of Cambridge across an Arc 85 miles long.

It is not at all clear that building one million new homes is no longer the government’s ambition. If one million new homes is no longer the ambition of Government, the local authorities and LEPs that signed up to the Joint Declaration should all state that, and the Joint Declaration should be revised to show this significant change.

The comments in para 1.7 to 1.10 indicate that the Council’s stated position is to support the proposition that achieving the Arc’s full economic potential will demand collective determination over the long-term, to “deliver significantly more homes in the Arc.” This seems to imply that the Council figure for future housing requirements of 1,275 dwellings per year, as calculated in this draft plan according to the Standard Method, will need to be substantially increased to accommodate the implications of OxCam.

In its present form, Local Plan 2040 would write into council policy the Council’s support for the OxCam Arc ambition to deliver one million new homes by 2050 and acceptance that this will involve a significantly higher housing requirement for Bedford than the housing requirement put forward in this local plan.

CPRE Bedfordshire strongly object to the implications of these paragraphs as, for reasons stated later, we already believe that the figure for future housing requirements, calculated according to the Council’s interpretation of the government Standard Method, of 1,275 dwellings per year, is excessive and unjustified.

We have arrived at this understanding through a process of deduction. In our view the implications of paras 1.6 to 1.10 being written into council policy are not clear and transparent.

CPRE Bedfordshire believes that the Council should be challenging the implications for significant additional housing growth required by OxCam and should therefore revise these paragraphs accordingly.

If the Council is not willing to challenge these expectations, the Local Plan should at least be revised to highlight more clearly the implications of OxCam on Bedford’s future housing requirement.