Object

Representation ID: 6369

Received: 13/09/2021

Respondent: CPRE Bedfordshire

Para 2.1 – OBJECT

CPRE Bedfordshire believe that the Council’s vision is unacceptable because, as stated earlier, the uncertainties resulting from the timing of the emerging Oxford to Cambridge Arc Spatial Framework undermine the credibility of the draft plan. We believe the Council should act with urgency to reach agreement with the government to suspend the submission date for this local plan until the requirements of the Spatial Framework are made known. Without such an agreement, the ability of the Council and local communities to maintain control over the selection of locations for growth through this local plan is seriously compromised.

The Local Plan Vision fails to recognise the importance of the "River Great Ouse and its Valley Area" right across the Borough from its point of entry near Turvey to where it exits the Borough in the east. This is a serious omission that should be remedied.

The river and valley area is the single most important environmental feature in the Borough bar none, and an area where very substantial biodiversity improvement can be achieved very quickly. It is the "Jewel in the Borough's Crown" across its entire length in the Borough, and not simply as a feature of the Town Centre as is often stated by Borough policy makers.
The absence of any recognition of this in the Local Plan gives the strong impression that the Council is preparing, as part of its Ox-Cam commitments, to allow substantial developments in or near the river and valley area.

The Council should state clearly and positively in the Local Plan 2040 that the "Protection and Enhancement of the River Great Ouse and its Valley Area" right across the Borough is one of its key objectives and that biodiversity improvement in the river valley area will be a primary focus of its Environmental and Climate Emergency strategy.