Support

Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

Representation ID: 9573

Received: 20/07/2022

Respondent: L&Q Estates Limited

Representation Summary:

Draft Policies DS2(S) and DS5(S) sets out the proposed distribution of growth in the Borough.
L&Q broadly support the growth strategy, which seeks to focus new residential development within the main Bedford urban areas, and at strategic urban extension locations where new development can contribute to the objectives of the Oxford – Cambridge Arc, and be delivered alongside appropriate infrastructure.
However, we would highlight the viability challenges associated with brownfield, urban town centre development, for example addressing ground contamination and utilities. For residential development, the need to optimise housing delivery in these locations is essential to making schemes viable and deliverable and flexibility around key, competing policy requirements is required. Due to the national and borough housing need, we would encourage the Council to support proposals for housing delivery outside of the identified areas for strategic growth, on a site by site basis, nothing the contribution that smaller, infill site developments can make.
As indicated previously, L&Q is already investing in the South of Bedford area at Wixams. In that context, it supports the intention to deliver sustainable future urban extensions within the South of Bedford area for 7,050 new homes (alongside appropriate infrastructure), and
specifically the identification of broad areas of growth at Draft Policies HOU15 (Land South of Wixams) and Policy HOU16 (Land at East Wixams). We note that a more detailed strategic place making framework for the South of Bedford policy area will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document, but that the Stepped Trajectory Topic Paper (April 2022) indicates capacity of 300 dwellings at Land South of Wixams and 1,800 dwellings at Land East of Wixams.
In our view Wixam is a sustainable location for housing growth; that is, it benefits from good access to employment centres, it located in the Oxford – Cambridge Arc growth area, it benefits from existing infrastructure, and has the potential to deliver additional new infrastructure where required.