Issues and Options

Thank you for consulting Northamptonshire County Council Highways on the Bedford Local Plan Review Issues and Options consultation paper. Northamptonshire County Council Highways engaged positively with Bedford Borough Council (BBC) throughout the preparation of the Bedford Borough Local Plan which was adopted in January 2020. A number of Duty to Cooperate meetings were held between the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Delivery Unit, BBC, East Northamptonshire Council, Borough Council of Wellingborough and Northamptonshire County Council Highways to discuss cross-boundary issues. There continues to be positive engagement. The Issues and Options paper identifies and discusses potential locations for growth on pages 17-25 of the document. The potential locations for housing and employment growth include: • Further regeneration within the Bedford / Kempston urban area, particularly of any available brownfield sites; • Expansion of the Bedford / Kempston urban area; • Expansion within the borough boundary, of neighbouring urban areas, such as Rushden and St. Neots; • Development along the A421 corridor; • Development around an East West Rail northern station; • New settlements in locations with good accessibility; and • More dispersed development throughout the borough including the expansion of villages. Of particular interest to Northamptonshire are the two potential growth options illustrated and described on page 18-20 of the document as being: • Brown – Urban based growth: Growth in and around the Bedford / Kempston urban area, together with extensions to Rushden and St. Neots. Building at higher densities in and around urban areas could deliver a significant number of homes. • Red – New settlement based growth: In addition to expansion of Wixams (new settlement) a number of new settlements could be developed. During the course of the preparation of the Local Plan 2030 four potential new settlement options were discussed but were not taken forward at that time. These and other new settlement options that have yet to be put forward could be considered as part of this plan. Brown – Urban based growth This option proposes extensions within Bedford borough that would functionally act as an extension to Rushden. As part of the assessment process, a key consideration needs to be the impact of additional growth on the local road network in this area, including, but not limited to the A6 and the A509. This needs to be assessed in the context of the emerging scale and location of growth proposed at Rushden as part of the update of the Joint Core Strategy through the North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan. Assessment work also needs to carefully consider the infrastructure required to sustainably connect any proposed development through high quality walking, cycling and public transport links, in particular the latest cycling design guidance. We understand from previous discussions that BBC has undertaken preliminary investigations into the potential for a new railway station on the Wymington Loop. A new railway station is not identified in the consultation document so at this stage there is no detail on specific locations and whether this may be deliverable. A railway station at Wymington could provide significant benefits and enhanced rail connections for those living within the Irchester, Higham Ferrers and Rushden areas and would be a key consideration in assessing the sustainability of potential growth options to the south/south west of Rushden. Any benefits will need to be understood in the context of any wider impacts on service stopping patterns and journey times from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough and the impact on travel patterns in the wider area. Red – New settlement based growth We previously made representations objecting to the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2035: Plan for Submission. These representations related to the proposed Colworth Garden Village (Policy 27 of the Local Plan 2035) and raised concerns around the transport modelling and the implications of the proposed Garden Village on the highway network in Northamptonshire, in particular, but not limited to, the A6 corridor. It is considered that the issues raised in the representation remain relevant to any consideration of the Colworth Garden Village site through the Local Plan Review. We welcome that the summary table recognises that ‘Issues with new settlement proposals previously put forward would need to be resolved before they could be allocated’ and it is noted that the Issues Paper states that: ‘New settlements remain an option for this plan but only where there is a clear case that they would be developable in the plan period’. We welcome that the consultants who are undertaking the transport modelling for Bedford Borough Council have already sought feedback from us on the extent of the Northamptonshire Strategic Transport Model (NSTM) and the growth assumptions to be incorporated in the development of the transport model covering Bedford borough. We welcome further discussions with Bedford Borough Council and their consultants to understand the scale of growth proposed as part of each growth option, and the impacts on the highway network within Northamptonshire, to ensure that there is a joined-up approach as the growth options for the Plan progress.

Thank you for consulting Northamptonshire County Council Highways on the Bedford Local Plan Review Issues and Options consultation paper. Northamptonshire County Council Highways engaged positively with Bedford Borough Council (BBC) throughout the preparation of the Bedford Borough Local Plan which was adopted in January 2020. A number of Duty to Cooperate meetings were held between the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Delivery Unit, BBC, East Northamptonshire Council, Borough Council of Wellingborough and Northamptonshire County Council Highways to discuss cross-boundary issues. There continues to be positive engagement. The Issues and Options paper identifies and discusses potential locations for growth on pages 17-25 of the document. The potential locations for housing and employment growth include: • Further regeneration within the Bedford / Kempston urban area, particularly of any available brownfield sites; • Expansion of the Bedford / Kempston urban area; • Expansion within the borough boundary, of neighbouring urban areas, such as Rushden and St. Neots; • Development along the A421 corridor; • Development around an East West Rail northern station; • New settlements in locations with good accessibility; and • More dispersed development throughout the borough including the expansion of villages. Of particular interest to Northamptonshire are the two potential growth options illustrated and described on page 18-20 of the document as being: • Brown – Urban based growth: Growth in and around the Bedford / Kempston urban area, together with extensions to Rushden and St. Neots. Building at higher densities in and around urban areas could deliver a significant number of homes. • Red – New settlement based growth: In addition to expansion of Wixams (new settlement) a number of new settlements could be developed. During the course of the preparation of the Local Plan 2030 four potential new settlement options were discussed but were not taken forward at that time. These and other new settlement options that have yet to be put forward could be considered as part of this plan. Brown – Urban based growth This option proposes extensions within Bedford borough that would functionally act as an extension to Rushden. As part of the assessment process, a key consideration needs to be the impact of additional growth on the local road network in this area, including, but not limited to the A6 and the A509. This needs to be assessed in the context of the emerging scale and location of growth proposed at Rushden as part of the update of the Joint Core Strategy through the North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan. Assessment work also needs to carefully consider the infrastructure required to sustainably connect any proposed development through high quality walking, cycling and public transport links, in particular the latest cycling design guidance. We understand from previous discussions that BBC has undertaken preliminary investigations into the potential for a new railway station on the Wymington Loop. A new railway station is not identified in the consultation document so at this stage there is no detail on specific locations and whether this may be deliverable. A railway station at Wymington could provide significant benefits and enhanced rail connections for those living within the Irchester, Higham Ferrers and Rushden areas and would be a key consideration in assessing the sustainability of potential growth options to the south/south west of Rushden. Any benefits will need to be understood in the context of any wider impacts on service stopping patterns and journey times from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough and the impact on travel patterns in the wider area. Red – New settlement based growth We previously made representations objecting to the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2035: Plan for Submission. These representations related to the proposed Colworth Garden Village (Policy 27 of the Local Plan 2035) and raised concerns around the transport modelling and the implications of the proposed Garden Village on the highway network in Northamptonshire, in particular, but not limited to, the A6 corridor. It is considered that the issues raised in the representation remain relevant to any consideration of the Colworth Garden Village site through the Local Plan Review. We welcome that the summary table recognises that ‘Issues with new settlement proposals previously put forward would need to be resolved before they could be allocated’ and it is noted that the Issues Paper states that: ‘New settlements remain an option for this plan but only where there is a clear case that they would be developable in the plan period’. We welcome that the consultants who are undertaking the transport modelling for Bedford Borough Council have already sought feedback from us on the extent of the Northamptonshire Strategic Transport Model (NSTM) and the growth assumptions to be incorporated in the development of the transport model covering Bedford borough. We welcome further discussions with Bedford Borough Council and their consultants to understand the scale of growth proposed as part of each growth option, and the impacts on the highway network within Northamptonshire, to ensure that there is a joined-up approach as the growth options for the Plan progress.