Comment

Representation ID: 9540

Received: 13/07/2022

Respondent: Ravensden Parish Council

Ravensden Parish Council notes the proposal for 30 hectares of employment land on two sites at the A421 Renhold junction (Policy EMP6). Whilst this is intended to be a research campus-style development, with elements of manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, we are concerned that the proposal could readily become a standard “sheds on the bypass” scheme, of which there are many similar examples along the A421 and which the property market invariably favours in locations well-served by strategic highways.
In any event the Parish Council is concerned about the potential traffic implications of this proposal. Already Oldways Road in our Parish is heavily used as a “rat-run” for traffic between the A6 and the A421. There is little or no provision on Oldways Road for pedestrians, cyclists, the mobility-impaired or equestrians, and the road safety risks are already considerable. The key junction of Oldways Road with the B660 at Ravensden Crossroads is agreed by the Borough Council as being over capacity. The B660 Bedford Road south of Wayside Farm Park has no facilities for pedestrians, and improvements are required here if the proposed country park extension (as part of the Ravensden Park permission) is to be sustainably integrated with the rest of the Parish. Cleat Hill is prone to large volumes of traffic and has a notable speeding problem.
Policy EMP6 can only exacerbate these issues and concerns.