Object

Representation ID: 9788

Received: 23/07/2022

Respondent: Mr Christopher Ashby

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

• I object to the ‘2040 Plan’ and the new proposal for a further 12,800 homes over and above the 2030 plan. This is far too many to meet the future needs of the ‘Bedford Borough Community’ but instead is destined to encourage large scale migration of population looking for cheaper housing cramming into an area where the current facilities, road infrastructure, work prospects and services are already inadequate. The result will be even more travelling, more car usage and more environmental pollution and will not improve the quality of life of the current ‘Bedford Borough Community’.
• Within the ‘2040 Plan’ please be aware that I strongly object to the proposed development which you are misleadingly describing as ‘Wixam Extension’. As you are well aware, it is in fact a proposal to build 2100 new homes within the ‘Parish of Wilstead’ on sites to the North and West of Wilstead village.
• Wilstead should not be included in the ‘2040 Plan’ due to the closeness of Wixams where 4,500 new homes are planned to be built over the next 20 years. In addition, ‘Central Bedfordshire Council’s’ local plan also outlines a very large-scale development immediately south of Wixams the implications of which on Wilstead and the Borough must also be seriously considered. These developments would impact on employment, health services and traffic.
• For over 20 years a major complaint of Wilstead villagers is gaining access to health services and in particular Doctors and Dentists with everyone having to travel to either Ampthill, Bedford or Shortstown to be seen. Even new residents to the village now find it very difficult to enrol with these surgeries. The proposed expansion of Wilstead by 2100 dwellings will make the situation regarding ‘Health Care’ intolerable and totally unacceptable.
• The proposed new developments along with those proposed by Central Bedfordshire in this area would seriously increase traffic volumes, particularly on the B530 and the A6 causing even more problems around A421 intersection/Cow Bridge/Interchange Retail Park area which cannot cope now. More importantly for Wilstead it will also have a major impact on Cotton End Road which is already used as a ‘rat run’ across to the A600. A police survey of Cotton End Road concluded that 24.6% of vehicles using this road were travelling above the legal speed limit of 30 mph (4720 Vehicles!) and that’s before Wixams is fully completed. What will the situation be with the addition of all the proposed developments in this area from both Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire?
• It is understood that Bedford Borough commissioned a full study on the effects of additional traffic on the A6 approaching Bedford from any new developments proposed in the North of the Borough? Why was one not commissioned for the A6 approaching Bedford from the South of the Borough looking at the effect of the extra 4500 houses already planned/being built in Wixams PLUS the effect of the extra traffic from the 2100 new houses now proposed PLUS the effect of the extra traffic from the 1650+ houses that Central Bedfordshire are planning south of Wixams?
• The community of Wilstead has put together the ‘Wilshamstead Neighbourhood Plan’ which is currently under examination before being passed for referendum. During the process, following two major consultations, over 95% of respondents considered the rural feel of the village was key to the quality of life and community identity and certainly oppose further development, especially one tripling the current size as proposed. Wilstead is one of the last rural communities south of Bedford with approximately 1000 homes whose residents choose to live in a tranquil environment close to open green spaces farmland and wildlife and away from large numbers of people, massive housing estates, noise and pollution.
• These proposed developments would cause the effective merger of the village of Wilstead and Wixams. This is unacceptable as it is extremely important that the strategic gaps or green spaces between Wixams, Wilstead and its various ‘Ends’ within the village (Duck End, Church End, Littleworth etc) must be maintained to protect their individual heritage, prevent coalescence and avoid an ’Urban Sprawl’.
• The classification of Wilstead as a ‘Key Service Centre’ is flawed, in that the facilities that it has are only suited to its current size. For example, the Primary School capacity is limited, there are no medical facilities, and the local bus stops are located over 800 metres from most residents. Wilstead should be re-classified as a ‘Rural Service Centre’ and Wixams the ‘Key Service Centre’ with its Schools, Supermarket, Garden Centre and more able to support future development with the forthcoming Railway station and town centre, complete with shops and health care facilities etc. etc.
• The proposed developments would occupy a large area of the rural landscape of the ‘Parish of Wilstead’. With farming being at the heart of this community, why in this most difficult of times with pressure on food production and environmental conservation, would Bedford Borough even consider ‘concreting’ over more agricultural land which for centuries has produced and still produces, much needed Wheat, Barley etc.? This rural landscape is also home to many species of wildlife. Surely it would be more sensible to plan to build over brown field sites.
• Wilstead is situated at the foot of a Greensand Ridge and sits on impervious clay. Surface water running off the hill cannot be absorbed by the clay; hence we suffer surface flooding with the land drains and ditches backing up as they struggle to cope. Two of the proposed areas for development straddle the flood plain which takes the surface water from Duck End and the surrounding fields to the River Ouse. This will add to the drainage issues and affect insurance premiums on the new properties. With global warming and the prediction of a wetter climate causing more regular flash floods, the concreting over of these vast areas of green spaces must be seriously reconsidered and avoided in this area.
• Finally, it is very noticeable that the 2040 Plan does not include any development to the north of Bedford? Surely some of the burden should also fall on the northern parishes particularly as the proposed East West Rail link goes to the north of Bedford before heading West or concentrated on a new town development around the Wyboston area, but as outlined above, I certainly object to more expansion in the South of the Borough.