Object

Representation ID: 9631

Received: 26/07/2022

Respondent: Miss Natalie Goldsworthy

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The proposed policy outlines that it ‘recognises the importance of retaining the separate identity of Elstow’, however the very proposal of additional housing and an employment allocation, shows that this is not the case and rejects the very sentiment that this proposed policy claims to want to fulfil.

The addition of more housing to Elstow will result in the urbanisation of a small village immersed in history. The historical importance of Elstow will be lost as the development site of housing and employment being in such proximity will mean the village of Elstow will no longer be a village but merely an extension of Bedford. The village of Elstow is steeped in history and has distinctive characteristics (the Abbey, Moot Hall etc) which will be engulfed through the addition of significant housing and a business park which is completely out of character for the village. I remember studying Pilgrims Progress, regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature, whilst undertaking English at University. It remains a staple piece of literature still being studied now and it will be immensely disappointing, if the plan is approved, that the home of the author, John Bunyan, will be completely submerged into the town of Bedford.

The sites proposed are in extremely rural and are not densely populated areas, so not only does this make the proposal out of character for the area, but the visual impact on the Abbey will be affected as well as the increase in traffic, which is already heavily congested at the traffic lights on Ampthill Road. This congestion already goes all the way back onto the Abbey fields road and will often mean that I can’t leave my estate. The addition of 200 houses is going to heavily exacerbate this and the infrastructure is simply not there to support the addition of all this housing.

This will often lead to large vehicles travelling through the centre of Elstow and the small village roads are not equipped to facilitate those types of vehicles. In addition, there seems to be no consideration of the school capacity. Since moving to the area, I have witnessed 3 near collisions with children nearly being hit by cars due to the massive congestion around school pick up and drop off, incidents have been reported to Elstow primary school and the police. Adding 200 houses to this already ongoing problem (as it has been established as a police priority to monitor the congestion and anti-social parking as part of local initiatives) will make this unmanageable.

The loss of agricultural land will be immensely significant as I understand that the site comprises of Grade 2 agriculture land, which is considered BMV and accordingly to national policy should be protected from significant, inappropriate, and unsustainable development proposals, such as this one. In addition, there is an abundance of wildlife in these areas which will be disrupted and completely lost.

There is also no guarantee that this proposal will remain as only 200 houses, once planning permission is granted, there are several opportunities for the developer to vary planning conditions, whether that be adding more houses, or moving the placement of those houses, which will be completely out of keeping with the Elstow village area.