Object
Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission
Representation ID: 9639
Received: 29/07/2022
Respondent: Arnold White Estates Ltd
Agent: Arrow Planning Limited
Legally compliant? Not specified
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Not specified
Turning to the matter of Plan length, AWG consider that the Plan Period should run to
2050. A period to 2040 is only 10 years beyond the existing Local Plan and is not a
sufficiently long enough extension to effect real change.
2.32 As the Council will be aware, strategic growth and development, along with wide scale
change, takes many years to deliver. Sites take a long time to plan correctly and then
commence delivery, and thus a longer Plan Period should be allowed for.
2.33 Furthermore, by extending to 2050, this would bring the Plan in line with others in the
Arc, such as the MK2050 Vision and the Oxford 2050 Plan. Given the strategic and
important role that Bedford Borough plays within the Arc, it would represent ‘good
planning’ and a holistic approach to align the Local Plan Period with those other areas.
The next review of the Local Plan would then not need to extend the Plan Period, but
instead revise housing and employment growth to reflect the latest position as relevant
at that time