Issues and Options

Bedford should establish itself as the “green” market town with the emphasis on residents’ quality of life, promoting all forms of sustainable transport to create a modern and sustainable environment that people would aspire to live and work in. The natural characteristics (e.g. pedestrian and cycle ways along the river) of the town centre need to be nurtured and enhance to improve and increase the economic value of the town. The town of Bedford should become a network of quality open green spaces and green corridors linking pedestrian and cycle ways with the river area. It should define and build on its strengths – recognising and publicising the beautiful countryside around it, not building a railway line on an unwanted route through tranquil open countryside. If Bedford wishes to benefit from East-West Rail and the improved connectivity to Oxford and Cambridge it should abandon its mistaken preference for the “northern” Rail Route and instead go for the Route B along the A421 transport corridor with a “parkway” station at Wixams. This would discourage traffic from the centre of town interested only in accessing Bedford station, reduce air pollution and improve the quality of life of residents on all access routes. In addition, the enhancement of parking facilities at outlying rail station should be viewed as a realistic option to be investigated to encourage a high level of ‘park and rail’ commuters. The enhancement of the park and ride offering for the town would help to alleviate traffic congestion into and out of the town centre, in particular, to the north of the town (e.g. A6 Clapham). The development of and provision of an efficient and cost-effective service would reduce traffic demand along the critical junctions in the town centre. The inclusion of dedicated ‘park and cycle’ facilities at the same location should be investigated in order to encourage modal shift along the busy commuter route. The Issues and Options consultation referred to the former airship hangars located in in the parish of Cardington which are now used by the broadcasting and film industries. The Local Plan should look for opportunities to promote these and other small specialist (high tech, science and technology) businesses to locate within the Borough. Ideal locations for such industries could be Colworth Park and Thurleigh Airfield which are ideally placed due to their existing activities and availability of brown field land The south of the Borough is strategically placed for nationwide coverage for the national logistics industry, with good access to a working population, and a very good road network in the A421/M1,A1 and with proposed upgrades to the latter and A428. The Local Plan should support and enhance this sector with a key objective to ensure that residents of Bedford Borough both work and reside within the Borough and that it does not become a large commuter dormitory.

The Development Plan has an important role to play in protecting and enhancing the town centre. This should be achieved by devising policies which support existing businesses, provide opportunities for new businesses to locate, promoting sustainable modes of transport, improving car parking in the correct locations. Due to changes in retailing habits by consumers and the proximity of modern shopping facilities at Milton Keynes and Rushden Lakes, it is essential that the traditional shopping areas provide the opportunity to accommodate a broader range of complimentary non-traditional retail uses. In addition to being flexible, new policies should give greater emphasis to enhancing the towns existing physical and cultural features and history, particularly the Embankment, the riverside, Castle Ward, the parks and theatres to enhance the town’s appeal not only as a place to live and work but also as a destination for visitors. The provision of efficient and cost-effective sustainable travel options is critical to the future of the town centre.

I agree

The Council’s Supplementary Planning Document “Climate Change and Pollution” previously guided developers on issues relating to climate change. However, this is no longer part of the development plan. Given the urgency of climate change the Council should prioritise new guidance to focus developers on addressing this issue at the inception stage of development.

There is no known local evidence to demonstrate that there is a need to go beyond the national standards although it would be desirable.

In order to achieve more sustainable development, the current principle of developing additional primary road networks to facilitate new development needs to be reviewed and altered in favour of environmentally sustainable alternatives. An emphasis needs to be placed on the provision and availability of easy and affordable public transport, and sustainable transport alternatives – encouraging good quality connections and sustainable transport hubs. An integrated network of segregated cycle routes in both urban and rural areas needs to become the norm encouraging people of all ages and abilities to feel safe and use their bicycles more regularly. Transport hierarchy needs to be adhered to in relation to providing for sustainable modes of travel – this has been even more evident in the 2020 – 2030 plan during the global COVID-19 Pandemic. A shift in urban street layout and practices to prioritise walking, cycling and public transport, needs to be given rather than to the private car. Easy access to electric cars, charging points and car clubs – as a mean to reduce Single Vehicle Occupancy (SOV) trips needs to be adapted around the county. The provision of local infrastructure (e.g. shopping facilities, sporting/recreational facilities, community centres etc) need to be available locally in order to reducing the need for residents to use the car to access them – a culture of the “20-minute neighbourhood” is required. The “20-minute neighbourhood” is all about ‘living locally’ – giving people the ability to meet most of their everyday needs within a 20-minute walk, cycle or local public transport trip of their home. In essence, a requirement to undertake the following is necessary;  Make sustainable modes of transport safe and easily accessible – removing physical barriers (e.g. crossing of the A421, widening access route to and from the town centre e.g. Bromham Bridge);  Substantially increasing the frequency of bus services to communities, in particular rural communities;  Actively reducing the priority given to unsustainable forms of transport.  Reversing past unsustainable transport policies and actions

The represented Parish Councils are particularly concerned that growth which will come forward as part of the 2030 Local Plan is located on high quality agricultural land. Whilst it is acknowledged that The National Policy Framework (paragraph 170) and Local Plan (policy 46S) identifies the need to continue to protect and enhancing agricultural land, they feel that policies should give greater emphasis to both the development of brownfield land and the protection of high quality agricultural land to redress this current imbalance and trend.

No other issues to be addressed.

The key issue for all the rural areas represented is the amount of housing growth to be delivered and where. Central to this is both the ONS data and the formula used. In preparation of the 2030 local plan, ONS data from 2014 and the Standard Method of Calculation (SMC) were used to calculate housing growth giving a housing need of 1300 per annum. As stated in the Issues and Options consultation, using the latest 2018 ONS data gives a much-reduced figure for housing need of circa 800 dwellings per year. It is understood that the Borough Council have recently been working with a third-party demographic company and have come up with a figure of circa 1100 units per annum. With the SMC now under review in the recent consultation ‘Changes to the current planning system - Consultation on changes to planning policy and regulations’ by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government dated August 2020, it seems that in all likelihood that the formula for calculating housing need will change again. What is clear is that using the ONS 2014 data and the current SMC there gives is a significantly higher housing need compared to the other data figures and other formulae. In all probability, the final housing need figure will be lower than that used for the 2030 local plan if, as it should, the 2018 ONS data is used. As set out in other sections of this response, if the vision genuinely seeks to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty including areas of tranquil retreat in the Borough then it is essential that the most up-to-date ONS data and method is used to identify accurate housing needs thereby protecting the rural areas from unnecessary and harmful development on greenfield sites in the rural area.