1.43
Object
Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan - Strategy options and draft policies consultation
Representation ID: 4747
Received: 01/09/2021
Respondent: Mr David Rawlins
This assessment was carried out in Nov 2020, but Honeydon and St Neots flooded in December 2020. There are 5 watercourses which run from Staploe Parish into the rivers just upstream of St Neots. A development of 10,800 homes at Dennybrook (site 977) would increase the chance of flooding in St Neots and Honeydon. NPPF 2020 167. Whilst Dennybrook may incorporate SUDS, what of the effect on exisitng homes? The assessment should also incorporate cross border effects on St Neots.
This assessment was carried out in Nov 2020, but Honeydon and St Neots flooded in December 2020. There are 5 watercourses which run from Staploe Parish into the rivers just upstream of St Neots. A development of 10,800 homes at Dennybrook (site 977) would increase the chance of flooding in St Neots and Honeydon. NPPF 2020 167. Whilst Dennybrook may incorporate SUDS, what of the effect on exisitng homes? The assessment should also incorporate cross border effects on St Neots.
Object
Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan - Strategy options and draft policies consultation
Representation ID: 6311
Received: 10/09/2021
Respondent: Mr Paul Zwetsloot
If we use numbers (2,1,0,0,-1,-2) to replace Bedford Borough Council’s “scoring” (++,+,0,?,X,XX) and assume that all criteria have equal weight, the options can be totalled and compared. Option 2a is best and scores 7. Option 6 is worst and scores -9.
The other points are of note:
4. Of the 15 criteria, 7 criteria have the same score for all options, so make no difference to the assessment. These include 2. Protecting and maintain biodiversity and 8. Landscape character.
5. Of the remaining 8 criteria where scores vary between options, 3 are effectively the same: 1. Air Quality; 3. Reduce CO2; 15. Reduce travel/promote sustainable transport. So in reality, of the 15 criteria only 6 criteria make a difference. We do not believe this is reasonable or sufficient.
6. In the favoured options 2a to 2d, we believe that Bedford Borough Council have failed to properly consider the true impact of new settlements (incl. Dennybrook (site 977)) on:
d. Promoting Bedford as a town centre – all options 2 and 3 score the same, but new settlements such as Dennybrook will push people to St. Neots, not Bedford. However this issue is recognised in options 4, 5 and 6.
e. Landscape character – all options score the same and the words fail to fully recognise the impact of new settlements on the existing landscape.
f. Max development on brownfield/avoid loss of agricultural land – despite the loss of agricultural land at Wyboston being highlighted in the words, this is not recognised in the scoring of 2b and 2d as these are the same as 2a. Shockingly the words say for all options “Although most new development is likely to be on greenfield land” – it seems that Bedford Borough Council readily accept this and have made no effort to maximise use of their stock of brownfield land (eg. 70ha at Twinwoods) – contrary to the NPPF.