Issues and Options

No

I have a few concerns about the Local Plan,which are as follows: - We need better and more traffic reduction measures, with the pedestrian being at the heart of planning rather than cars and lorries.This means better and more comprehensive public toilet facilities across the town/urban areas .

- As regards roads themselves,the following should not go ahead: • The proposed Oxford - Cambridge Expressway will bring no benefit at all to Bedford .This new road would affect Green Belt areas,and will bring in more traffic which is already increasing with the significant housing growth in between these two towns • Prebend Street relief road • Dualling of the Bedford Western Bypass - The future developments earmarked for the lands around Ford End Road and south of the river surrounding Bedford St.John's Station should not go ahead since these lands were once railway property and any developments on these lands should be put to railway use rather than housing: • The lands of Ford End Road should be used as a second booking hall with extra parking and a bus turn around and walkway to Platform 4 of Bedford Midland. Hurst Grove should be made one way going north to Winifred Road. Lands are needed to straighten tracks between Danfoss and Bedford Midland for east-west rail access and ease pressure on Platform 1 of Bedford Midland. Better buses needed for Bedford Midland linking with Bus Station,and all Grant Palmer services should be redirected to include the railway station in their routes. • The old St John's Station site should be kept clear from development and a new cycle- cum- walkway from existing St John's Halt to Cardington Road should be implemented as a green corridor.The old route of the East-West railway to Cambridge should be used as a fall-back and re-evaluated should the proposed northern route from Bedford-Tempsford prove too expensive or problematic for other reasons. Furthermore,I would like to know how one can translate a unanimous support for reopening the Bedford-Northampton railway to policy and actions to get it moving along at one and the same time as other projects. • protection of routes/esp. north of Bromham and junctioning with flyover from slow lines of Midland Main Line • getting other councils on board including applications to the Reopenings Fund for a study to make the case and also look at new routes around Olney. Previous studies were apparently done for that rail route between 2001 and 2004 and showed a lot of potential on and off the rails.