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Representation ID: 8981

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Hampton Brook (UK) Limited

Agent: Axiom Great Barford Limited

Chapter 3 of the consultation document identifies that 171 hectares of new employment land will be required up to 2040. There are 48 hectares of employment supply identified in the District, it is therefore expected that the emerging Local Plan will need to identify 123 hectares of land in order to meet employment needs.

When planning for employment land required, the Local Plan 2040 should include a buffer in order to allow a choice in the market, alongside a range of site typologies in order to meet different requirements in the market. Whilst Chapter 3 acknowledges that there is a shortfall of 123 hectares of land, a further buffer of 10% should be applied to this figure and therefore the plan should be looking to allocate 135 hectares of employment land to allow for this flexibility.

Bedford Borough is located in the central area of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc. The vision for the Arc anticipates a significant level of residential and economic growth in the local authority as part of wider aspirations for the area. Consideration should therefore be given as to whether there is a need to go beyond the 135 hectares to maximise economic benefits for the area and deliver the arc vision. As is discussed further in the next section, given the limited opportunities for growth around the edge of Bedford, a starting point for this should be ensuring opportunities within the urban area, such as at Manton Lane, are taken to avoid the need to make difficult decisions about the release of agricultural land for development.