Support

Representation ID: 9036

Received: 04/10/2021

Respondent: Historic England

We welcome the preparation of a Design Guide. It would be helpful to mention the historic environment in paragraph 7.28. It would be helpful to have a specific policy in the Plan for the Design Guide to sit under.
We have been consulted on the SEA for the Design Guide and look forward to commenting on the Design Guide itself as it emerges.
Tall Buildings Study and Policy
Given the growth pressures that will be experienced by Bedford over the coming
years, we strongly recommend that the matter of Tall buildings and the skyline needs
to be addressed in a new DM policy. We recommend that you commission a tall
buildings study. See our advice note HEAN 4 and the consultation draft of HEAN 4.
Any policy should indicate what considerations are needed for taller buildings, where
buildings may or may not be appropriate etc. and in particular consider in the impact
on the historic environment. We would be happy to advise further regarding the
detail of such a study.
Supporting Evidence
Landscape Character Assessment/Historic Landscape Characterisation
We welcome the section on Historic Landscape Character within the LCA (paras 2.15
– 2.84) which provides helpful context. However, we continue to request that the
finer grained historic landscape characterisation is updated to better inform future
development and growth options.
Historic England – OX Cam research work
Historic England has commissioned consultants to undertake some work looking at
development in the OxCam Arc. ‘Measuring Impact: Managing Change’ looks at the
question, ‘How should the form of growth in the Oxford-Cambridge arc positively respond to the Historic Environment’. This research is due to report later this year and we hope to be able to share this with you at this time as it may provide useful evidence to inform your Local Plan work.