Object

Representation ID: 9004

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Bedfordia Developments Ltd and Bedfordshire Charitable Trust Ltd

Agent: DLP Planning Limited

The opportunity for transformative change resulting from the delivery of East-West Rail within
Bedford Borough is not disputed. However, the Council’s own evidence demonstrates that
the level of rail-based growth at Kempston Hardwick/Stewartby and Wixams relied upon as
part of its Preferred Options is unsound. National Planning Practice Guidance ID: 68-020- 20190722 states that a pragmatic approach should be taken when considering the intended
phasing of sites, where the authority may need to provide a greater degree of certainty than
those in years 11-15 or beyond. The PPG expands on this by stating that where longer-term
sites are relied upon evidence must be available to demonstrate that they will come forward
within the timescales envisaged and at a rate sufficient to meet needs over the Plan period
(ID: 68-019-20190722).

While these sections of the PPG post-date the NPPF2012 it is the case that the Council has
historically failed entirely in setting out realistic timeframes for the development of complex
sites. These shortcomings have particularly affected Town Centre sites in the past, which the
Council will now unsuccessfully rely upon to sustain completions against the housing
requirement in the Local Plan 2030. We argued at the previous Local Plan Examination that
such sites should be identified as developable no earlier than the 11-15 year period.

These issues with existing sites will be compounded in the Council’s trajectory for the Local
Plan 2040 (meaning that even its proposed ‘stepped approach’ against a requirement of
970dpa to 2030 will not be effective). These representations further demonstrate the lack of
evidence to consider rail-based growth in the A421 corridor as developable any earlier than
years 11-15 of the Plan period (if not beyond) thus rendering the Council’s Preferred Options
entirely unsound.
Reasoning

The Council’s own Development Strategy Topic Paper identifies multiple risks to the railbased
component of growth in the A421 corridor, including:
• Delivery of new rail stations is proposed, but not yet confirmed.
• Lead in times for remediation of the Kempston Hardwick area and delivery of new
rail stations mean that development in this part of the transport corridor will occur
later in the plan period.
• Detailed analysis of context and density / storey heights to establish appropriate
place making for the rail based growth at Kempston Hardwick and Stewartby has
yet to be undertaken.
• The land at Kempston Hardwick is currently being promoted for employment
development.

These points confirm that the Council’s extremely wide range of potential quanta for the
development of rail-based growth are not currently informed by evidence of site-specific
opportunities assessed as suitable, available, or achievable. This means that there is no justification whatsoever for the levels of development summarised at paragraph 3.12 of the
Council’s Topic Paper:
“Transport corridor – rail based growth: land within the parishes of Kempston Hardwick,
Stewartby and Wixams. On the assumption that new rail stations will be delivered at
Wixams and Stewartby / Kempston Hardwick, ambitious growth is assumed at both
Wixams and Stewartby / Kempston Hardwick in the range of 1,500-3,000 dwellings at
Wixams and 2,500-5,000 dwellings at Stewartby / Kempston Hardwick by 2040. Within
the options two levels of development are tested: a lower option total figure of 5,500
dwellings (2,000 at Wixams and 3,500 at Stewartby / Kempston Hardwick) and a higher
option of 7,500 dwellings (3,000 at Wixams and 4,500 at Stewartby / Kempston
Hardwick)”

There is no evidence to indicate these totals as developable in the period to 2040. In the
absence of site-specific testing the Council can have no grounds to suggest how constraints
might be overcome, when infrastructure will be provided and whether the extremely high
levels of development required to meet these totals over a very short period between
sometime after 2030 and 2040 can be achieved.

The extent of this uncertainty is summarised in footnote 1 on pp.8 of the Development
Strategy Topic Paper:
“East West Rail are currently consulting on two options for the Marston Vale Line; one
which retains the current stations at Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick, and another
that replaces them with a new station (tentatively named “Stewartby Hardwick”) at
Broadmead Road. This component of growth is based on development around the new
or existing stations in conjunction with development around the new station at Wixams.
These stations could provide a focal point for higher density growth supported by the
sustainable travel options offered by new and enhanced rail services.”

The consultation referred to recently closed in June 2021 and final decisions on the ‘Concept’
for stations on the Marston Vale line are awaited. For the avoidance of doubt, the expected
timeframes set out in the most recent Consultation Document indicate that a Development
Consent Order may be obtained by 2024 and construction on the rail works may commence
in 2025. However, this does not provide a clear timetable for the delivery of individual projects
and upgrades. Stage 05 (‘Construction’) is summarised as follows:
“Once we’ve complied with any initial conditions or requirements included in the
Development Consent Order, the government will consider the full business case for the
Project to make the final decision to proceed. Following further conversations with the
public and stakeholders, can start to construct your new railway.”

The potential for residential development to occur in conjunction with the delivery of new stations as intended by the Council is likely to require a substantially longer lead-in
timeframe.
The Council has previously acknowledged that longer lead-in timeframes must be allowed
for as part of redevelopment of the Stewartby Brickworks (Policy 25) Development Plan
allocation as it exists in the LP2030. The Local Plan trajectory anticipates delivery of only (at
most) 100 units in 2029/30 before the end of the current Plan Period. The scheme is in effect
accepted as an 11-15 year developable site.

Application proposals under reference 18/03022/EIA (validated November 2018) benefit from
an Officer recommendation to grant planning permission subject to S106 agreement. In
practice, this does not alter any conclusions regarding the deliverability/developability of the
site and likely timescales. Discussions surrounding the draft S106 obligation would be
anticipated to be extensive. This is reflective of the constraints of the site and gaps in the
evidence base for the LP2030, notably:
• Around 19ha of the site falls within Flood Risk Zone 2. Furthermore, a small
proportion (around 1ha) is located within Flood Risk Zone 3a/3b.
• A requirement to confirm costs and timescales for the requisite link from the new
development across the railway could be achieved (notwithstanding ongoing
deliberations regarding East-West Rail). whilst Network Rail is identified as a key
stakeholder for preparation of the Council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan (December
2018) no project associated with the rail crossing is identified, costed, or phased
over the course of the plan period.
• The Council’s Local Plan Viability Assessment (BNP Paribas, November 2017
(paragraph 6.16)) notes the requirement for significant investigations to assess onsite
constraints for this complex site, with a view to preparation of a development
brief, all prior to detailed viability work taking place.

It is our experience from monitoring the delivery of the nearby Wellingborough East Urban
Extension that the construction of crossings over rail lines can take significant periods of time
and are unpredictable.

The Officer Report in relation to the current position on securing a policy-compliant (and
CIL122-compliant) package of contributions towards the site’s ability to enhance use of railbased
transport states:
“Policy 25 iv. Sets out a need for enhancements to the existing railway station
environment including accessibility, provision of facilities and security. If the railway
station stays in its current location the increased permeability of the site will improve
connections from the village to the station. The Railway Station however does not fall
within the application site and is under review as part of the wider East West Rail scheme,
details of which are not confirmed at this time.”

Given this uncertainty we would anticipate it is highly likely that a S106 obligation may not
be entered into until these uncertainties are resolved or that otherwise it would be expected
that this would be subject to future Deeds of Variation or revisions to the scheme resulting in
delays to the delivery of housing.

The Council’s Preferred Options also identify a contribution of around 2,000-3,000 further
units to be allocated at Wixams, to correspond with eventual delivery of a further new station
as part of the wider scheme. These units will be additional to the remaining capacity identified
in the Bedford Local Plan 2030 trajectory and units to be delivered as part of committed
development in Central Bedfordshire’s Local Plan (which already includes a Southern
Extension to the scheme).

The longstanding issues with delivery of the Wixams New Station are illustrative of the
impacts upon rates of development likely to be experienced at Stewartby/Kempston
Hardwick. Evidence presented at LP2030 Examination demonstrated that the build-out rate
of Wixams within Bedford Borough has been 96 dwellings per annum over the 10-year period
to 2018. Development has since commenced in Central Bedfordshire, increasing the overall
build-rate but corresponding with a reduction of activity in Bedford Borough.

Delivery of the Station has been delayed by over 11 years with the project still not expected
to commence construction until 2023 at the earliest. Commissioning of a detailed design
scheme for the proposed station was able to progress earlier in 2021 contingent on the basis
of consultation on the proposed northern alignment of East-West Rail.
While any final decision is awaited on the outcome of the Bedford-Cambridge phase of East-
West Rail there remains a risk that the time-limited period for funding available from the lead
developers of the Wixams scheme will expire and result in the project not being delivered (or
requiring additional monies to address the shortfall in project costs).

In the context of the above delays and uncertainty and in the absence of a clear timeframe
for delivery of the station the Council’s Preferred Options present no site-specific evidence
of how the additional capacity at Wixams could be achieved over the Plan period and at an
appropriate build-out rate (in addition to the delivery of extant commitments).

The characteristics of any potential increase in allocations at Wixams also represents an
issue of cross-boundary strategic importance, given that the scheme is being delivered
across local planning authority boundaries and the requirement for partial review of the
Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015 to 2035. This could lead to any potential for additional
development being required to address the unmet needs of neighbouring authorities (or
affecting the administrative boundaries within which the most appropriate land should be
identified).
Remedy
These representations demonstrate that the rail-based growth component of the Council’s
Preferred Strategy Options requires substantial further refinement and site-specific testing.
This is likely to substantiate a significant reduction in assumptions regarding the potential for
development within the plan period, which can be effectively mitigated through pursuing a
‘hybrid’ strategy for development in sustainable locations across the Borough.