Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan - Strategy options and draft policies consultation

Support

Representation ID: 7420

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Thakeham

These representations are made on behalf of Thakeham Homes in relation to the Regulation 18 Local Plan 2040 consultation.
About Thakeham
Thakeham is an infrastructure-led sustainable placemaker and is committed to creating new, extraordinary places, where the highest attention to detail makes a positive difference.
Thakeham build for the future, for communities and for individuals. Our approach sets us apart from our competitors. We deliver our schemes with a focus on sustainable development, looking ahead of current housing standards. From 2025, all Thakeham Homes will be carbon neutral in construction and zero carbon in lifetime use.
Each development is different and tailored to its locality, with careful consideration of the area’s character, as well as the environment. As a sustainable placemaker first and foremost, Thakeham’s commitment to improving existing communities means its schemes are design and infrastructure-led; engaging with education, highways, healthcare, utilities and other stakeholders from the start of a project. The delivery of homes facilitates the delivery of physical, social and green/blue infrastructure which benefits the wider surrounding area, as well as the new residents, and ensures that Thakeham create sustainable places to live and work.
The emerging Environment Bill sets out Government’s target of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain across development sites. However, through our landscaping approach, we will seek to achieve 20% Biodiversity Net Gain, including hedgehog highways, year-round variation for wildlife, as well as green and blue infrastructure, open space and play space.
We will engage local primary schools with our ‘Eddie & Ellie’s Wild Adventures’ initiative to promote the importance of ecology and biodiversity, delivering National Curriculum linked activities and early career-based learning.
At every stage, our approach is one that ensures we leave a legacy behind that everyone can be proud of.
Thakeham design all homes to be beautiful and reflect the character of the area. The materials used across all developments are of the highest quality. Thakeham builds all developments tenure blind to ensure no drop off in quality.
As one of 12 members of the NHS Healthy New Towns network, Thakeham is a committed advocate of developing healthy places in line with the Healthy New Town principles. But over time, we have realised that these principles are just the starting blocks, and at Thakeham we are committed to delivering sustainable, zero carbon communities.
Our level of commitment to sustainability means that we are streets ahead of our competitors and aiming for a far higher level of impact. Thakeham has become the first housebuilder in the UK, and one of only five in the construction sector globally to have made commitments on the SME Climate Hub, and be part of the United Nations’ Race To Zero campaign. As part of this, we have committed to the SME Climate Commitment. Recognising that climate change poses
a threat to the economy, nature and society-at-large, our company has pledged to take action immediately in order to halve our greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, achieve net zero emissions before 2050, and to disclose our progress on a yearly basis. Our sites will include the following sustainability improvements:
• All Thakeham homes will be carbon neutral in production and zero carbon in lifetime operation by 2025. This puts us well ahead of the pledges we have made as referred to above.
• On all Thakeham developments we follow industry best-practice by taking a ‘fabric first approach’, which looks at how design and materials can contribute to the energy performance of the completed building.
• We will also consider the potential for incorporating sustainable energy features, such as air-source or ground-source heat pumps, communal rainwater recycling, solar panels, battery storage, renewable energy tariffs, and highly efficient heating and hot water systems.
• Thakeham uses a UK-based factory which manufactures panels using timber from sustainable sources. The off-site panelised system improves efficiency, speed of construction, quality, and reduces carbon emissions.
• Our Sustainable Procurement Policy encourages the use of recycled materials, such as otherwise nonrecyclable waste plastics (One tonne of MacRebur mix contains the equivalent of 80,000 plastic bottles), as well as utilise products part of a circular economy.
• We ensure that our whole supply chain is a local as possible. We have gold membership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School.
• On site, we monitor and aim to minimise construction travel emissions, construction waste and energy consumption and are registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme.
Our approach sets us apart from our competitors. We deliver our schemes with a focus on sustainable development, looking ahead of current housing standards.

Support

Representation ID: 7421

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Thakeham

Thakeham are promoting land to the west of Eaton Socon, between Kimbolton Road to the north and Bushmead Road to the south. As part of this promotion, we have prepared a high-level Vision Document, which sets out our aspirations for the site that reflects our core values of sustainability and place-making. A copy of this document is appended to this letter as part of these representations.
Comments on Growth Strategy
Bedford sits within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, which is the science and innovation capital of the country and is competing on the international stage. The ambition of government and local partners is the delivery of “high-quality, well-connected and sustainable communities making the Arc an even more beautiful place to live, work and visit.” In order to deliver on these ambitions, Bedford needs to provide sufficient high-quality housing and facilities that will attract new employers and allow existing to remain and attract the staff they need.
Bedford has good road and rail infrastructure in place, with further rail improvements coming forward in the form of East West Rail. This will make Bedford a preferred location for new growth in the future. To ensure sustainable growth across Bedford, development cannot be focussed solely around the existing town boundary as proposed under growth option 2a.
Focussing all new development around the existing settlement boundary would result in further pressure on the town’s educational, medical and social infrastructure as well as increasing congestion, which would have further negative impacts on the environment. This will also impact all other settlements within Bedford district, with no new development or services provided for the north of the district. There should be a more balanced approach to provision of growth and services ensuring all new and existing residents and employers are well catered for.
It would be more appropriate to spread development across the district, with smaller growth around Bedford and new settlements near existing and proposed transport infrastructure in the north of the district, that can be built with new services and community facilities that can take some of the pressure off existing services in Bedford.
Therefore, we believe that Options 2b, 2c, and 2d are all more appropriate as they identify new settlements at Wyboston that will be well supported by the existing Great Northern and Thameslink train services, as well as the new East West rail line, providing sustainable transport opportunities.
Growth options including a new settlement at Wyboston are more appropriate as they will provide additional services in the north of the district, which will benefit the wider population of the Borough beyond merely Bedford town centre.
Identifying the Wyboston area for growth allows for flexibility in future growth, that doesn’t have to be focussed around the Bedford settlement boundary.

Support

Representation ID: 7422

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Thakeham

Thakeham supports the Council’s policy to include self-build, and acknowledges the number of units provided in development over 100+ is by negotiation. However, as is the case across the country, any specific amount of self-build should be evidenced by demand in the area, rather than an arbitrary number based on the scale of development proposed.
Thakeham supports the Council’s inclusion of a deadline for marketing plots for self-build after which they would be released from the self-build policy requirement. However, we believe that 12 months is too long, as land would remain fallow for the entire marketing period, plus the time then taken to obtain planning permission for conversion to alternative housing or uses.

Support

Representation ID: 7425

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Thakeham

Thakeham welcomes the inclusion of an environmental net gain policy. Thakeham seeks to deliver biodiversity net gain across all our sites and from 2025 20% biodiversity net gain (an increase on the government’s mandated 10% minimum), and our developments in Bedford would be no different.