3.8

Object

Representation ID: 8125

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Dr Emma Thompson

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8164

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Ross Thomson

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8203

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs Bernadette Yockney

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8262

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Daniel Francis

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8306

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Miss Erin Francis

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8348

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs K Francis

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8452

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Theodore Cassell

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis I believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area. The Post-pandemic reassessment of working patterns and employment growth areas needs to be factored in to this and the BBC strategy is outdated on this.

Rural Bedfordshire has employment within the farming/food production areas is important too!

Object

Representation ID: 8549

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs Claire francis

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8621

Received: 13/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Henry Zwetsloot

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8688

Received: 13/09/2021

Respondent: Mr J Francis

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8780

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8815

Received: 28/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs Nicola Gooch

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8851

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Alex Simpson

Agent: Bidwells

171 hectares of new employment land will be required up to 2040 according to Chapter 3 of the consultation document, with 48 hectares of employment supply already identified in the District. The emerging Local Plan will therefore need to identify 123 hectares of land in order to meet employment needs.
3.2 The Local Plan 2040 should include an appropriate buffer on the employment requirement to support a choice of sites in the market, and deliver a range of site typologies in order to meet different occupier requirements. At present, Chapter 3 of the consultation document acknowledges that there is a shortfall of 123 hectares of land, but does not give consideration to this matter. It is considered that a buffer of 10% should be applied to the employment need requirement and the emerging Local Plan should be looking to allocate 135 hectares of employment land.
3.3 The Oxford to Cambridge Arc is a key priority for National Government and Bedford Borough is located in the centre of this geographical area. The Arc vision proposes a significant level of residential and economic growth and it is expected that Bedford Borough will contribute to this agenda. Given the emphasis being placed on growth, it is expected that Bedford Borough should be planning for additional employment areas, on top of planned need, in order to fulfil the requirements set out in the Arc Vision.
3.4 The employment land requirement in the Local Plan 2040 should be flexible in order to ensure that needs are met and the overall approach should plan for the broader long-term economic aspirations for growth in the area.
Summary
The Council should include a suitable buffer for the amount of employment land requirement in order to create flexibility in the supply.
● The wider economic aspirations of National Government given Bedford Borough’s prominent position at the centre of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc need to be planned for.

Object

Representation ID: 8853

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Alex Simpson

Agent: Bidwells

The Development Strategy Topic Paper states that the existing urban area, the A421 corridor and rail-based locations were the most popular options for growth at the Issues and Options stage. The Sustainability Appraisal identified that urban growth and urban edge growth are the most sustainable approach to new development.
5.2 Chapter 3 of the consultation document states that the Council will seek to make use of both larger and smaller sites as employment sites. As a result, a large number of sites will need to be allocated in order to meet the identified employment land requirement for Bedford Borough.
5.3 Of the large number of the sites that have been submitted for consideration by Bedford Borough as potential development sites, the majority are being promoted as residential housing sites as opposed to employment land.
5.4 The four Growth Options put forward by the Council all intend to deliver up to 51 hectares of employment on the edge of Bedford. However, development on the edge of Bedford is constrained as a result of issues such as landscape, topography, flood plain and potential coalescence with smaller settlements thereby limiting the number of available locations for further growth. There is also a pressure to deliver residential development within and on the edge of Bedford also and many of the available sites will be more suited to this use. The Council should therefore give greater consideration as to how sites that are located outside of Bedford itself can meet employment needs.
5.5 A finer grain assessment of site availability and suitability should be undertaken in order to inform the development strategy. This assessment will undoubtedly identify that there is a greater level of potential land available for employment growth along the whole of the A421 corridor, including at Cotton End where a mixed-use allocation has the potential to build on existing employment uses in the area, such as that provided at Cardington Hangers.
5.6 The A421 has seen considerable growth in employment floorspace over recent years due to its central location in the Oxford to Cambridge Arc and proximity to the M1. In the future, the demand for logistics space will remain given the growth being experienced in online sales and the significant investment being put into improvements to the A428.
5.7 Road improvements to the A428 / Black Cat roundabout and East-West Rail are key infrastructure investments in the area which are to occur over the plan period. They will provide important connections between Oxford and Cambridge as well as links to the wider train network. Opportunities for growth associated with this significant investment should therefore be capitalised on. The provision of a mixed-use development at Cotton End is therefore ideally located to maximise these opportunities and attract significant investment to the Borough.
Summary
The Council should include a suitable buffer for the amount of employment land requirement in order to create flexibility in the supply.
● The wider economic aspirations of National Government given Bedford Borough’s prominent position at the centre of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc need to be planned for.

Support

Representation ID: 8945

Received: 01/10/2021

Respondent: Mr James Browning

Employment growth should be centred around the transport corridors and where there are sustainable modes of public transport and other sustainable choices such as walking or cycling. On this basis we believe that this should be provided adjacent to Bedford / Kempston urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 8972

Received: 01/10/2021

Respondent: Dacorum Borough Council

We welcome the focus on decarbonisation and generally the objective of promoting sustainable transport solutions.
The M1 is a major transport artery serving both our areas and is of particular importance to our sub regional major employment area at the Maylands area of Hemel Hempstead and to the Hemel Garden Communities programme.
The Transport Studies do not appear to have considered potential cumulative impacts on the M1 which we appreciate lies outwith your administrative boundary. We note that discussions are continuing with the Highways Agency, as is also the case with ourselves. We request that as part of those discussions that potential impacts on the M1 are considered and that we are informed of the outcomes of discussions in that respect. In addition the Transport Studies should make some reference to potential impacts of growth on the M1 even if only to possibly conclude that they are not significant.