Object

Representation ID: 8377

Received: 02/09/2021

Respondent: Bedford Borough Councillor

As we get further into the document, we see more problems. Theme 1 claims to be “Greener”, but by 2040, the aim should not be merely “working towards” net zero. We should have already got there. Worse, within the theme, there is no objective about reducing energy use. Without such an objective, the talk of “working towards net zero” is empty words. The “Strategy Options and Draft Policies Consultation” falls wildly short of any claims to be “Greener”.

The relatively hollow words about “Greener” are even undermined by “Theme 2: More accessible”. The first objective within this theme 2, to “Reduce congestion in the borough” undermines being Greener. Reducing congestion should NOT be an objective. Reducing congestion tends to work against sustainable travel. The objective, rather, should be to promote a modal shift away from the use of motor vehicles, and if (but only if) that is sufficiently successful in reducing the amount of land needed for current congestion levels, the amount of land taken up by roads should be reduced. Similarly the aim to “Improve ‘first mile / last mile’ local connections to strategic infrastructure, allowing for easier access and greater integration” could easily be used to ‘justify’ actions that undermine the claims to be “Greener” – if this ‘first mile / last mile’ refers to transport, the priority should be easier access to and greater integration with public transport, cycling and walking networks, NOT the strategic road network, yet the proposed objective does not acknowledge that some sorts of ‘first mile / last mile’ connectivity are better than others, and some are more consistent with theme 4 than others. While mention of making walking and cycling more attractive is welcome, this objective fails to recognise that they shouldn’t just be made more attractive, they should also be made safer, at all times of day and night. The detailed policies needed to bring about safe networks of walking and cycling routes are notably absent from the document, including most glaringly the continued failure to provide adequate safe and segregated access for those cycling to/from the station.
“Theme 3: More prosperous” as written further undermines claims to be “Greener”.
The aim to “Support a stronger local economy delivering economic growth” has a fundamentally anti-green aim. Economic “growth” means ever-faster turnover of production and destruction, resource extraction and waste disposal. The council should, rather, be aiming for increasing wellbeing for the local population, which sometimes, but not always, is related to economic activity and thus growth. Where economic activity does not promote wellbeing (for example by causing pollution and environmental damage), it is wellbeing that should be pursued, rather than growth. Objectives that would be better for the wellbeing of the people of Bedford (and the rest of the world) would not focus so tightly on economic growth. Attracting and enabling high value businesses to prosper would be an appropriate objective if, and only if, those businesses actually work “for the benefit of the borough’s existing and future residents”. The assumption in the current objective that they will always do so is false, as witnessed by communities elsewhere that have been damaged by “high value” businesses (when that value is considered purely in financial terms).
Similarly, while it is a good objective to “Create a distinctive, attractive and multi-functional town centre for the future, with a focus on leisure, culture and visitor … activities, and high-quality urban living”, these should be promoted for themselves, with visitor activities not being the narrower “visitor economy activities” of the current objective.
The objective to deliver social infrastructure should not be limited to what is “necessary … to support growth”. Social infrastructure that promotes wellbeing should be an objective for its own sake.
It is good to see the value of improving “the borough’s transport infrastructure in order to … to make the borough more attractive as a place to live” is recognised, but making the borough a more attractive place to live and improving welfare should be the aims, rather than “to support growth in the local economy”, regardless of whether that growth improves welfare. Further, improvements in transport infrastructure to promote welfare should be concentrated on public transport, walking, and cycling infrastructure, in part to meet the requirements of Theme 4. Historically, compared to transport infrastructure for cars and lorries, public transport, walking and cycling have suffered massive under-investment, and much more can be done to promote wellbeing in the borough by concentrating on public transport, walking, and cycling.
Theme 4: Better Places is much more acceptable as written than Themes 1, 2 and 3. We note that practically achieving “a borough where everybody has appropriate access to high quality health and social care, as well as everyday essential services and community facilities” necessarily will require much better attention to public transport, walking and cycling. Not everybody can use private cars (for reasons including affordability and impairments). Thus, for everybody to have appropriate access, the utter reliance on private cars in many parts of the Borough must be ended.