Object

Representation ID: 7314

Received: 02/09/2021

Respondent: Miss Emma Pegler

Twinwoods contains previously developed land and Dennybrook does not. On the contrary, it contains Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed prime farmland. BBC should make clear how it has taken this into account in deciding the potential options.

There is no upfront Transport plan that would enable us to determine if BBC has properly considered the sustainability of its proposals. Surely if this much disruption is planned over so many years to develop houses that require many cars and lorries to build and then live there, BBC has to explain how it justifies putting Dennybrook in the middle of countryside well away from Bedford and its amenities. Every time someone needs to visit a shop/government office/station etc, a large number of miles have to be driven on backroads through villages. Or the plan is to send them via another county but without upfront consultation?

With Dennybrook proposing over 10,000 houses stretching from Colmworth to the A1, the development is approximately the size of Biggleswade and 2/3rds the size of St Neots. We can estimate that this brings around 20,000 extra cars plus lorries, totally overwhelming the local road network which is out of proportion excessive and erases a rural area with historic settlements that has existed since Medieval times.

And yet, there is a lot of high-quality development opportunities that could be included in the Local Plan. The call-for-sites by BBC returned over 430 responses with over 70,000 plots against a need of approximately 12,500 homes. There is absolutely no need to consider something the size of Dennybrook when the downsides are so huge and destructive.

Please be reminded that back in 2019, BBC noted in their assessment of the site: ‘the site is located in a relatively convenient location for vehicle journeys on the strategic road network, which may be a deterrent to non-motorised travel.’