Object

Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

Representation ID: 9416

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: O&H Land

Agent: Varsity Town Planning

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Representation Summary:

As currently drafted, Policy DM8 is unclear, overly restrictive and will be difficult to interpret and apply.

Full text:

As currently drafted, Policy DM8 is unclear, overly restrictive and will be difficult to interpret and apply.

The criteria of the draft policy use the term ‘existing employment areas’ as the reference point for determining the acceptability of future development proposals, but this is an undefined term and does not pertain to a fixed boundary. Is an ‘existing employment area’ the hard edge of a current employment site, or a cluster of business that have grown organically over time?

With reference to a specific case, O&H Strategic Land own a small, 3 acre, greenfield site in the countryside. It is not a viable proposition for an agricultural unit and demands an alternative use. It is contained by a former landfill site, a builders yard and a car breakers yard. With good highway access it could contribute towards the Borough’s demand for low technology industrial growth. However, it is unclear whether this cluster constitutes an ‘existing employment area’ and therefore whether Policy DM8 allows such a logical site to be brought forward for development.