Object
Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan - Strategy options and draft policies consultation
Representation ID: 8878
Received: 30/09/2021
Respondent: Mr Peter Mills
I do not agree that this consultation was sound or fair. I agree with Staploe Parish Council who responded to question 4 as follows: “Staploe Parish Council object in the strongest terms to the suggestion in the brown option that our parish is a brownfield site or underutilised land. Our whole parish is classed as open countryside for planning purposes. Our three tiny hamlets are not even classed as a small settlement in the Local Plan 2030 definition (6.21) and we are therefore defined as open countryside. We feel that describing the brown option which would see the majority of our parish covered in a large scale, high density, urban development as using brownfield or underutilised land is very misleading. We believe this could compromise the validity of the consultation as those responding would logically propose development on brownfield or under-utilised land over greenfield sites.
1.3 100 word Summary
Would call into question the effectiveness of the issues and options consultation as only 0.12% of the population responded.
Additionally this current plan and call for sites document 2040, is likely to get little response and engagement with wider public and get a true opinion and feedback in my view, as the documentation does not have a clear summary on a few pages, it has multiple links to documents everywhere, mixed with detail like type of shop front in Bedford town centre when it is known shopping habits will likely change post Covid 19, and living on the Beds border is hardly used by me) does not help to present the facts clearly where somebody can quickly focus in on their areas of interest. To read all these documents take in and understand the detail, would need a considerable amount of someone’s time and need the ability to understand complex documents. I believe the leaflet flyer explained little as a summary, and the documents not presented in a manner that will engage people as might be the intention of such an important consultation for the future.