Site ID: 566
Support
Site Assessment Pro Formas
Representation ID: 3480
Received: 25/07/2021
Respondent: Mr Peter Gell
Small development, so minimal impact on local community let provides housing in a locality with good transport links.
Object
Site Assessment Pro Formas
Representation ID: 5092
Received: 02/09/2021
Respondent: Ms Ginny Ford
This is an important green space for villagers as consulted in the green infastructure planning workshops and neighbourhood plan consultation. The site has medieval ridge and furrow - now a very rare thing in this areas of Beds, also a pond that supports great crested newts
Support
Site Assessment Pro Formas
Representation ID: 8501
Received: 27/09/2021
Respondent: Gladman Developments Ltd
Gladman are promoting Land off Bedford Road, Willington for residential development. The site is located to the south‐west of the settlement, measures approximately 2.33 hectares in size and can accommodate around 46 dwellings.
SEE ATTACHMENT FOR PLAN
The site comprises two large agricultural fields (currently used as horse paddocks) with boundaries formed of wooden post fencing, hedgerows and trees. A small pond lies in the centre of the western field. The site is bounded by open countryside and agricultural uses to the north, and to the west beyond Balls Lane. To the south beyond Bedford Road lies existing residential development, and existing residential development also abuts the site’s eastern boundary. A public right of way crosses in a north/south trajectory within the eastern field.
The site lies adjacent to Willington which is a sustainable settlement with a range of services and facilities. The village shop and post office lies to the south of Bedford Road, adjacent to the site boundary. Within 2km of the site there is a primary school, public house, village hall, church, recreation ground and a large garden centre, along with blue infrastructure and recreational facilities at Danish Camp. All these facilities are easily accessible from the site via safe walking routes along footpaths adjoining well‐lit highways.
Bedford Road is served by a busy bus route with half hourly Monday‐Saturday daytime services to Sandy, Biggleswade and Bedford, which provide for a full range of higher order services. Frequent onward rail connections to London and other destinations across the country are available from Bedford.
Willington is a sustainable settlement on the A421 corridor and can play an important role in sustainably contributing towards the level of growth needed in the Borough over the plan period. New homes and accessible open space in this location will also assist in sustaining and enhancing the services and facilities in the village as well as contributing to the local and affordable housing needs of the village and the Borough.
An Ecological Impact Assessment has previously been carried out to assess the proposed development of the site and its potential impacts on important ecological features as part of planning application 18/03161/MAO. To inform this assessment a desk study and range of field surveys were undertaken. The conclusion of this work is that no impacts are predicted in respect of nature conservation designations.
The Site is dominated by horse‐grazed paddocks, comprising semi‐improved grassland currently in unfavourable condition. The site can be developed in a manner that retains areas of grassland, bringing them into more favourable condition through sensitive management and proposed enhancement works. The development of the site would include the retention of important biodiversity features and the creation of new habitats.
A population of great crested newts has been recorded making use of a pond located to the centre of the site. Following consultation with Natural England, principles of mitigation can be established to safeguard this population alongside development, as well as to deliver wider enhancements for biodiversity. Such mitigation works would also safeguard a population of common lizards and an ‘outlier’ badger sett, both recorded at the Site. Based on successful implementation of mitigation, compensation and enhancement, the development of the site would accord with all relevant nature conservation legislation.
The site can be developed within a strong Green Infrastructure Framework that would enable the enhancement of landscape features and create new areas of planting to provide ecology and wildlife benefits. Existing Public Footpath ‐ FP9 can be integrated within the open space provision within the site and provide linkages to the wider Green Infrastructure network and the existing built form of Willington.