Object

Representation ID: 8502

Received: 27/09/2021

Respondent: Old Road Securities PLC

Agent: DLP Planning Limited

Definition of the proposed plan period underpinning the Council’s Preferred Options has been rendered inconsistent with national policy following publication of the 2021 version of the NPPF.
Reasoning
The larger-scale approaches to development (including new settlements) that the Council has identified as part of its Preferred Options accord with the circumstances that national policy identifies for considering a minimum 30-year horizon, to take account of longer timescales for development.
Paragraph 1.2 of the ‘Creating a Vision for the Ox-Cam Arc’ consultation document also confirms that the Spatial Framework will extend to 2050 and beyond. Preparation of the Bedford Local Plan 2040 should be undertaken consistently with this aim.
The proposed plan period of 2020 to 2040, particularly when read in the context of the Council’s Preferred Options resulting in a further delay to meeting development needs in full (until at least 2030) will generate a requirement for further, successive, reviews and is setting the plan up to fail.
Remedy
Bedford Borough Council should not wait for transitional arrangements upon introduction of the Framework to have to undertake yet another review that will need to consider the shortfall in meeting needs and addressing strategic priorities to 2030. Realistically, as a result of the scale and pattern of the Preferred Options proposed, delays to timescales for development are also likely to result in delays to meeting needs in full between 2030 and 2040.
Those parts of the Council’s Preferred Options relying on larger-scale development should be profiled to look further ahead to 2050.
This reemphasises that in terms of the soundness requirements for preparation of the Local Plan 2040 the Council’s proposed approach must also fully embrace those sustainable opportunities to meet the increased requirements for growth in the immediate term. This can be enabled through recognising the increased benefits of Preferred Option 2d. This enables the prioritisation of suitable and deliverable sites within the ‘east’ corridor parishes (including Great Barford) and more widely recognising village-related growth as part of a ‘hybrid’ strategy.