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

Object

Representation ID: 8049

Received: 02/09/2021

Respondent: Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire

Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire (CCNB) has examined the draft document and has the following comments to make.
By 2040 the world will be at the point of no return for climate change. As such the new Local Plan must focus on policies which will not increase pollution responsible for greenhouse gases but continue to mitigate the effect as quickly as possible.
In 2019 42% of the total pollution emitted by the Borough came from transport. It is therefore extremely important that emphasis is maintained on reducing this level through policies which encourage more sustainable modes to the car such as public transport, cycling and walking.
It should be noted that the switch to e-vehicles is not the complete answer at the present time due to the environmental concerns and future availability of obtaining the current components of batteries – cadmium and lithium. Hydrogen based vehicles may become one of newer sources but both do not reduce particle pollution which has become a major health concern for all people but particularly for children and the elderly. With the forecasted increase in traffic of more than 50% by 2050 the change solely to e- or h-vehicles will not resolve increasing congestion, air pollution and safety concerns.
All future new developments should therefore be situated near or have access to regular all day public transport and safe quality cycle routes. Cycle paths within a development should be connected to the existing cycle network especially if the development is on the edge or near the urban area.
The existing cycle network has to be improved in places to bring it up to the latest government quality standards.
The Borough’s Vision and Objectives and four Themes are all excellent but these must be followed up by actions.
The earlier Bedford Development Framework (2013) and Local Plan 2030 had similar policies but of the 54 items in the Cycling Background document for the still current Allocations and Designations (2013) component 76% (41) have still not been completed.
Since 2013 there have been more than a further 100 items of which more than 67% are still outstanding.