Support

Representation ID: 8224

Received: 26/09/2021

Respondent: The Forest of Marston Vale Trust

• Growth and Spatial Strategy Options:
‒ The growth required represents an uplift of 33% in housing growth from the previously adopted Local Plan 2030 (25,500 new homes during the plan period). Irrespective of spatial strategy, this represents a very large increase in required growth, which will be unsustainable unless sufficient planning and resourcing are developed to support environmental protection and enhancement in a strategic way.
‒ All of the shortlisted growth options include significant further growth within the designated Forest of Marston Vale area. The Forest area has long been a focus for growth and development, as part of the regeneration of this part of Bedfordshire, and it has seen substantial development over of recent decades. The potential scale of further growth within the Forest area potentially risks undermining the credibility of the publicly and politically endorsed vision for creating the Forest of Marston Vale. Whilst development proposals can contribute to the creation of the Forest, the cumulative impact of further substantial growth risks a degree of urbanisation of the Forest area which would be at odds with the core premise and vision of the Forest. Bedford Borough Council must think carefully about what quantum of further development within the Forest can be accommodated without undermining the integrity of the shared vision for creating the Forest of Marston Vale. Furthermore, the Council must also think carefully about how any further development that is proposed within the Forest area can be designed to avoid this risk, in both spatial and design terms.
‒ In view of the above points, Option 2a would seem to pose the greatest risk to the integrity of the Government-backed vision for creating the Forest of Marston Vale, and, as such, the Trust has grave reservations about this proposed spatial strategy. Option 2c would appear to impact least on the credibility of the Forest vision.
‒ When considering the shortlisted options, the Trust requests that the significant growth allocated within the southern half of the Forest area (i.e. within Central Bedfordshire) is duly considered in the context of cumulative impacts of the integrity of the Forest vision. At least 5,000 new homes are planned in the Marston Valley scheme, running south from Marston Moretaine, which all of the proposed growth options within Bedford Borough extend to the north with a further 5,000-7,500 additional homes. The cumulative impacts of this on the prescribed environmentally-led regeneration of the area needs very careful consideration, as too much additional growth could well pose a material risk to both the credibility and realisation of the shared vision for the Forest of Marston Vale.‒