Object

Representation ID: 9074

Received: 27/01/2022

Respondent: Mrs Linda Bates

As a resident of Colmworth I have serious concerns regarding the plans for the proposed development of Dennybrook. My husband and I come from the farming community and the impact on the local farmers, landscape, wildlife and the rural community would be defer stating.

I understand from the documentation that has been made available, that the development would be excessive and cover an area which is comparable to the size of Biggleswade and stretch from the A1 Eaton Socon to Colmworth. with 10,000 homes. This would totally wipeout the rural environment where we live. With most households owning 2 or more vehicles this will completely overwhelm the roads within the area, with a minimum of 20,000 additional vehicles. The road infrastructure is not able to sustain such volume and for most people, with the distance they need to travel (even to one of the proposed new railway stations), will not eliminate the use of cars or encourage cycles or walking.

Being in the farming community much of the land is Grade A agricultural land growing essential crops and providing employment. I don’t believe that there is any brownfield element to this site which is supposed to be a priority under the governments “National Planning Policy Framework”. Surely sites with Brownfield elements should be considered and prioritized over the use of Grade A Agricultural land.

This development is supposed to provide an environmentally sound and sustainable solution to Bedford Borough ‘s housing needs. How can it, when it would destroy Grade A agricultural land and wildlife habitat, overwhelm the road network and due to its location potentially benefit the town of St Neots much more than it would Bedford