Object

Representation ID: 9515

Received: 27/07/2022

Respondent: Mr David Fudger

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

There is acknowledged importance of Elstow remaining a rural village - The village of Elstow is unique, it is steeped in history with its distinctive character and the addition of housing, and a business park will be totally alien to this character.

Coalescence with Bedford Town
Developing these sites would bring urbanisation to Elstow village, with this housing and employment development, being in such proximity to one another, it will mean the village becomes submerged into Bedford.

Inappropriate and overbearing in height - if any structures are placed on the proposed sites, considering the demographic of the local land, along with the A421 bypass the buildings will be incredibly imposing on nearby settlements.

Impact on local landscape - the sites are in extremely rural locations, the sites are not near densely populated areas, so to have such large-scale development is totally out of keeping. The visual impact on the local setting needs to be considered from all angles, again using specific local knowledge on this is helpful. Being mindful as well of local rights of way, or recreational past times.

Highways - There is already significant congestion experienced at the nearby site junction(s) throughout the day. Detail experiences of impact this has on your own travel patterns as well as the disruption this causes within the village setting.
Traffic volumes and village road network are not suitable for vehicles that would be accessing this site. Access onto nearby village roads might require significant remodelling of the roundabouts and junctions.
Oxford to Cambridge Arc - the government has recognised that such a scheme servicing this local area is no longer necessary, therefore the project has been scrapped.

Working habit changes - consider the changes to how the population now work from home, draw on your own experiences and knowledge of changes to the workplace environment.

Evolution of technology - over time as technology evolves so does how industries operate, having such a specific designation limits the suitability of this proposed site.

Over allocation of employment sites - the Local Plan document has many allocations proposed to be designated for employment sites, concern over the site being redesignated for an alternative use such as housing.

Unsuccessful previous delivery of site EMP6 - the site at Land at Pear Tree Farm was previously allocated for employment with the site known as Land at Medbury Farm in the previous Allocations and Designations Local Plan several years ago. The site did not move forwards in the last 15 years, so it is unreliable in terms of deliverability.

Precedent - if any of the sites are taken forwards on the east of the A6 it will open that entire local area to being developed, with a swathe of housing and employment being built over term, effectively resulting in total urbanisation of the local area.

Sustainability - The proposed development area is not close to any immediate existing services and facilities.
'Levelling up' - central government White Paper sets out that opportunity would be spread more evenly for moral, social, and economic programme growth. Locating such development in the northern part of the country would be in line with government policy.

Wildlife impact - the local area is abundantly rich with wildlife, there will be significant loss of habitat. Local knowledge of how rich in wildlife these areas are, have not been taken into consideration. This needs to be, given the uniqueness of the area as a part of the rural countryside, habitat loss from such significant development and associated ground and hedge/tree works.

Loss of Agricultural Land - The sites comprise Grade 2 agricultural land, which is Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land, and according to national policy, should be protected from significant, inappropriate unsustainable development proposals.

Distinctiveness of village must be considered - Elstow is predominantly a parish with low density development. Having an enormous business park totally urban in character would be out of keeping. Elstow has always pursued a 'dark skies' policy around the parish where the employment site is proposed. This is a distinctive character; it would not be possible to retain a rural character with overbearing, multiple story employment units being imposed on the village.

Protection of the view to Elstow Abbey - the historic building, which is recognised nationally, must be preserved in its rural setting. Any building in the area Abbey Field West of Elstow will be detrimental to the view across to the Abbey from the A6.

Noise pollution - the sites are nearby to several residential properties so during the construction phase these could be subjected to unacceptable noise and disturbance.
Where else the development could go?

There are several housing growth areas identified in the Local Plan, with significant new settlements at Little Barford and Kempston Hardwick. There is a provision for some employment allocation at these two sizeable new communities. It would be natural for employment sites to be based at these locations, for those sites to be expanded to enable those new communities to grow with job opportunities nearby and in a sustainable way. It would be naturally for these areas to take housing development as well.

The Borough Council could also allocate more employment land at existing, established business park areas which have infrastructure in place already. Do also include any other thoughts you might have on where else development could go.