Object

Representation ID: 8415

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Theodore Cassell

PLEASE NOTE SOME OF MY ANSWERS USE ADVICE/GUIDANCE FROM PEOPLE BETTER QUALIFIED TO COMMENT ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION RE PLANNING/TRANSPORT ETC. THIS DOES NOT MEAN MY RESPONSES DO NOT REPRESENT MY PERSONAL VIEWS AND MY MOTIVES ARE TO PROTECT MY HOME BUT ALSO THE ENVIRONMENT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. I WAS BORN AND GREW UP IN BEDFORDSHIRE AND WISH TO PROTECT ITS NATURAL ASSETS. I HAVE RETURNED TO MY HOME COUNTY TO WORK AS AN EQUINE VET AND MY HORSE IS STABLED IN HONEYDON AND I HAVE EXTENDED FAMILY LIVING THERE.
The North Bedfordshire countryside and Staploe Parish in particular could be profoundly and permanently affected by the decisions made in this plan and yet we have been unable to meet with fellow residents to discuss this until very recently. The consultation process and immense quantity of technical documentation, complex response process, tight timescales and the disproportionate size of the local residents to respond and be heard compared with the other residential areas being discussed is unreasonable to make the decisions upon which a Local Plan is made democratic. Indeed, to gain professional support and advice required fundraising before any professional guidance could be afforded, whereas the Borough council has access to finds/resources to skew decisions in any way which may suit political and other agendas. I have not received any previous flyers to alert me to this process until this later consultation which has already brought the decisions down to a limited number of options (4 key development sites) of which this local area is the centre of 3. Indeed, even if I had received previous information about this plan and the local development proposals they would be in accurate due to the 25% increase in the area of the Dennybrook (site 977) site which was made public at short notice 8 months after the call for sites deadline closed and only one month before the consultation opened.