Object

Representation ID: 9528

Received: 10/07/2022

Respondent: Mr Andrew Bartram

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

I wish to register and confirm that I object to the Bedford Local Plan 2040 allocation of the proposed total of an additional 2100 dwellings in Wilstead Parish because:
1. Wilstead does not fully meet the scoring requirements as laid out in the 'Settlement Hierarchy' and should therefore not qualify for major development on this scale
2. It will destroy the historic rural nature of the village, lead to coalescence with other nearby locations by removing separation from the urban sprawl, absorb a huge amount of the rural landscape and have a damaging effect on the existing and established wildlife currently enjoying unspoilt countryside habitats
3. The sheer number of dwellings proposed will enlarge the village disproportionately (trebling it in size!!), will not be sympathetic to the rural character of existing dwellings and will create separate satellite,non-integrated communities within the 'new' village boundary resulting in the loss of the existing vibrant village identity
4. Traffic will increase exponentially with respective increases in speed violations resulting in further danger to cyclists and pedestrians; in particular children and the elderly. Journeys into the village will be mostly by car, be short and by definition not eco-friendly. Pollution in this otherwise clean air village will rise with all the associated health issues it brings to all forms of life.
5. All primary and secondary schools currently serving the village are either at or above capacity and are either badly or not served at all by public transport resulting in ever increasing use of the car
6. There is no GP provision in the village and the combination of additional housing planned in Wilstead Parish along with that just proposed just over the borough boundary in South Bedfordshire will completely overwhelm the current services provided in nearby Ampthill
7. The possibility of an additional 5600 people occupying the 2100 dwellings proposed accessing medical/dental/generic health care will be patchy at best and most likely at the end of a long distance and ecologically damaging journey
Whilst the current infrastructure might suggest it practical to 'load up' the south of the borough with all the housing need and solve the problem in the short term it will impact adversely upon the quality of life in places like Wilstead NOW and its new residents in the future who have to travel from the much bigger village to access any/all forms of services to meet the needs of everyday living.