Site Assessment Pro Formas

Object

Representation ID: 8795

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

The land at Top Homes is not considered a suitable site by Staploe Parish Council and should be discounted as a sustainable location for development by Bedford Borough Council.
The proposed site falls within the Parish of Staploe. The parish is entirely rural with many narrow, single track roads (many of which are designated as unsuitable for HGVs) and no settlement policy area. It is all on grade 2 (high quality) agricultural land and it is highly valued for its peace, quiet, open countryside views and rural setting by its residents as evidenced by a Neighbourhood Plan survey conducted in early 2021. Clearly, any significant development within the Parish would make a permanent change to the landscape and the setting of the small hamlets and rural nature in the locality. Such physical changes cannot be reversed, and the Council would need to be satisfied through a thorough review of the supporting documents to the site submissions that adequately address the impacts, and in terms of achieving sustainable development – in line with Paragraph 16 of the NPPF and section 39(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
Housing need has been identified through the Council’s LHN. Using the process set out in the Planning Practice Guidance “Housing and economic needs assessment” (MHCLG – updated December 2020) the minimum annual LHN figure is 1,305 dwellings per annum. This equates to 26,100 dwellings across the period 2020 – 2040. However, existing committed sites and windfall provide a figure of 13,000 new homes. This provides a figure of 13,100 additional dwellings over the plan period. It is noted that Bedford Borough Council need to deliver 12,500 homes as a minimum. Regardless which of the figures proposed, the strategy of option 2b (including 2,500 homes at Little Barford) meets the Council’s housing requirement and negates the need for a development at Top Homes.
When looking at the spatial approach to locating new development, the proposed site at Top Homes would be located within close proximity to St Neots. Given the scale of the proposed development there would a potential coalescence to the existing settlement of St Neots. Spatially, this would be contrary to the Council’s adopted Local Plan which seeks to prevent coalescence of settlements. In addition, policy 37 of the Council’s adopted Local Plan makes clear that developments need to ‘Protect the landscape setting and contribute to maintaining the individual and distinct character, and separate identities of settlements by preventing coalescence…’. It should also be taken into consideration that St Neots is experiencing its own strategic growth with an eastern extension 3,265 dwelling and 20 Ha of employment land over the plan period. Therefore, a new settlement directly to the west of the existing settlement of 400 would increase the size of St Neots and may affect delivery rates for housing due to competing sites.
It is clear that the proposed development at Top Homes would be a car reliant settlement because it would not benefit from a choice of sustainable modes of transport as opposed to other developments, such as urban extensions and the proposed development at Little Barford. Little Barford offers a varied choice of sustainable modes of public transport, including the possible linkage to the East West rail station south of St Neots. It is anticipated that there will be limited employment associated with Top Homes with commuting considered necessary to nearby employment areas, for example, south of St Neots, Bedford or Cambridge via train. This would be contrary to sustainability objectives identified by BBC, and contrary to paragraphs 73, 104, 105, 106, and 110 of the NPPF, not to mention existing policies within the adopted Local Plan, namely Policies 2S, 87, 88, and 90S. In addition, the Top Homes site does not align with a strategic transport corridor growth strategy, including rail.
In highways terms, it has been identified previously that Parish of Staploe is rural in character, with most of the road network narrow and single track. The inclusion of 400 homes would require significant infrastructure interventions, including the substantial widening of existing roads and junctions, which would lead to an urbanised appearance in what is a tranquil and idyllic countryside setting.
The landscape setting for the Parish of Staploe is one of a rural character, containing small hamlets, interspersed agricultural buildings, small holdings and arable agricultural land. As mentioned above, the roads are narrow and winding, and contribute to the rural setting. The landscape character is depicted within the Council’s Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), updated October 2020. The wider Parish of Staploe falls within the Thurleigh Clay Farmland character area (1D). Within the ‘evaluation’ section at page 55 of the LCA it notes that potential future change could include Small scale development in villages which could lead to loss their distinctive character/ ‘Ends’; Road upgrades affecting rural road character; Suburbanisation of villages. This would suggest that even relatively small changes would affect the rural setting of the area. Moreover, the proposed landscape strategy for the area as identified within the LCA is to ‘enhance’ elements of the landscape. The introduction of 400 new dwellings would significantly and permanently erode the rural character of the Parish, contrary to Paragraphs 20, 153, 174, and 175 of the NPPF and policy 37 of the adopted Local Plan.
The hamlet of Duloe currently only has around 40 homes and is currently a ribbon development with houses usually only on one side of the road. This gives each home a rural outlook on both sides. A large development of 400 homes would fundamentally change the character of the hamlet.
The Top Homes area includes fields which are valued breeding sites for corn buntings, skylarks and partridge.
A further point to consider is that most of the land covered by the Parish of Staploe is Grade 2 agricultural land as identified by the Agricultural Land Classification. Paragraph 174 (b) of the NPPF makes clear that planning policies should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by: ‘recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services – including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and of trees and woodland…’. Grade 2 agricultural land is considered to be the best and most versatile agricultural land and would be applicable in this instance.
The residents of Duloe would be significantly affected by this development and the hamlet would lose its identity. Residents chose to live in these locations for their peace and quiet and rural character.
Valued local views would be lost across open farmland.
Residents of Staploe, Duloe and Eaton Socon would be affected by a huge increase in traffic through the hamlets and on the Bushmead Road. The Bushmead Road is not suitable for the existing level of traffic and the approach to St Neots is past a primary school.

Residents of Staploe Parish currently benefit from access to services in St Neots. We have been able to use the schools, doctors, leisure centre, recycling centre (until very recently), and library. Residents are concerned that if large scale development occurred we would no longer be permitted to use these services because they would become overwhelmed with people from Bedforshire. In addition, the Council along with the County or Unitary authorities, need to fully consider any infrastructure requirements that would support the level of growth that may arise from such large scale developments. The Parish Council would expect there to be an updated Infrastructure Delivery Plan that supports the Regulation 19 Pre-submission Draft Local Plan, with such updates to ensure that existing provision of services can still be relied upon by existing residents within the Parish.

The site is directly adjacent to the A1. Any development here would rule out any improvements to the A1 in future.
Overall, the land at Top Homes does not offer a truly sustainable form of development, and is thereby contrary to policies contained within the NPPF and of the Council’s adopted Local Plan. Accordingly, the proposed new development should be discounted when considering sites for allocation going forward to the pre-submission draft Local Plan.

This site has now effectively been replaced by Eaton Bank. Please see our comments on Eaton Bank below.

100 word summary Top Homes Site 931
Top Homes is unsuitable because: there is a risk of coalescence with St Neots, the location is high quality agricultural land, it is valued as a rural location by its residents, there are no services, the roads are very narrow, it is too far from the new E-W rail station to offer sustainable transport, a large development could cause flooding in St Neots. The transport modelling is flawed and underestimates the number of trips. Development here would rule out any improvements to the A1 in future. (See later comments re Eaton Bank).

Object

Representation ID: 8796

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

The land at Flints Field is not considered a suitable site by Staploe Parish Council and should be discounted as a sustainable location for development by Bedford Borough Council.
The proposed site falls within the Parish of Staploe. The parish is entirely rural with many narrow, single track roads (many of which are designated as unsuitable for HGVs) and no settlement policy area. It is all on grade 2 (high quality) agricultural land and it is highly valued for its peace, quiet, open countryside views and rural setting by its residents as evidenced by a Neighbourhood Plan survey conducted in early 2021. Clearly, any significant development within the Parish would make a permanent change to the landscape and the setting of the small hamlets and rural nature in the locality. Such physical changes cannot be reversed, and the Council would need to be satisfied through a thorough review of the supporting documents to the site submissions that adequately address the impacts, and in terms of achieving sustainable development – in line with Paragraph 16 of the NPPF and section 39(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
Housing need has been identified through the Council’s LHN. Using the process set out in the Planning Practice Guidance “Housing and economic needs assessment” (MHCLG – updated December 2020) the minimum annual LHN figure is 1,305 dwellings per annum. This equates to 26,100 dwellings across the period 2020 – 2040. However, existing committed sites and windfall provide a figure of 13,000 new homes. This provides a figure of 13,100 additional dwellings over the plan period. It is noted that Bedford Borough Council need to deliver 12,500 homes as a minimum. Regardless which of the figures proposed, the strategy of option 2b (including 2,500 homes at Little Barford) meets the Council’s housing requirement and negates the need for a development at Flints Field.
When looking at the spatial approach to locating new development, the proposed site at Flints Field would be located within close proximity to St Neots. Given the scale of the proposed development there would a potential coalescence to the existing settlement of St Neots. Spatially, this would be contrary to the Council’s adopted Local Plan which seeks to prevent coalescence of settlements. In addition, policy 37 of the Council’s adopted Local Plan makes clear that developments need to ‘Protect the landscape setting and contribute to maintaining the individual and distinct character, and separate identities of settlements by preventing coalescence…’. It should also be taken into consideration that St Neots is experiencing its own strategic growth with an eastern extension 3,265 dwelling and 20 Ha of employment land over the plan period. Therefore, a new settlement directly to the west of the existing settlement of 400 would increase the size of St Neots and may affect delivery rates for housing due to competing sites.
It is clear that the proposed development at Flints Field would be a car reliant settlement because it would not benefit from a choice of sustainable modes of transport as opposed to other developments, such as urban extensions and the proposed development at Little Barford. Little Barford offers a varied choice of sustainable modes of public transport, including the possible linkage to the East West rail station south of St Neots. It is anticipated that there will be limited employment associated with Flints Field with commuting considered necessary to nearby employment areas, for example, south of St Neots, Bedford or Cambridge via train. This would be contrary to sustainability objectives identified by BBC, and contrary to paragraphs 73, 104, 105, 106, and 110 of the NPPF, not to mention existing policies within the adopted Local Plan, namely Policies 2S, 87, 88, and 90S. In addition, the Flints Field site does not align with a strategic transport corridor growth strategy, including rail.
In highways terms, it has been identified previously that Parish of Staploe is rural in character, with most of the road network narrow and single track. The inclusion of 400 homes would require significant infrastructure interventions, including the substantial widening of existing roads and junctions, which would lead to an urbanised appearance in what is a tranquil and idyllic countryside setting.
The landscape setting for the Parish of Staploe is one of a rural character, containing small hamlets, interspersed agricultural buildings, small holdings and arable agricultural land. As mentioned above, the roads are narrow and winding, and contribute to the rural setting. The landscape character is depicted within the Council’s Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), updated October 2020. The wider Parish of Staploe falls within the Thurleigh Clay Farmland character area (1D). Within the ‘evaluation’ section at page 55 of the LCA it notes that potential future change could include Small scale development in villages which could lead to loss their distinctive character/ ‘Ends’; Road upgrades affecting rural road character; Suburbanisation of villages. This would suggest that even relatively small changes would affect the rural setting of the area. Moreover, the proposed landscape strategy for the area as identified within the LCA is to ‘enhance’ elements of the landscape. The introduction of 400 new dwellings would significantly and permanently erode the rural character of the Parish, contrary to Paragraphs 20, 153, 174, and 175 of the NPPF and policy 37 of the adopted Local Plan.
The hamlet of Duloe currently only has around 40 homes and is currently a ribbon development with houses usually only on one side of the road. This gives each home a rural outlook on both sides. A large development of 400 homes would fundamentally change the character of the hamlet.
The Flints Field area includes fields which are valued breeding sites for corn buntings, skylarks and partridge.
A further point to consider is that most of the land covered by the Parish of Staploe is Grade 2 agricultural land as identified by the Agricultural Land Classification. Paragraph 174 (b) of the NPPF makes clear that planning policies should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by: ‘recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services – including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and of trees and woodland…’. Grade 2 agricultural land is considered to be the best and most versatile agricultural land and would be applicable in this instance.
The residents of Duloe would be significantly affected by this development and the hamlet would lose its identity. Residents chose to live in these locations for their peace and quiet and rural character.
Valued local views would be lost across open farmland.
Residents of Staploe, Duloe and Eaton Socon would be affected by a huge increase in traffic through the hamlets and on the Bushmead Road. The Bushmead Road is not suitable for the existing level of traffic and the approach to St Neots is past a primary school.
Residents of Staploe Parish currently benefit from access to services in St Neots. We have been able to use the schools, doctors, leisure centre, recycling centre (until very recently), and library. Residents are concerned that if large scale development occurred we would no longer be permitted to use these services because they would become overwhelmed with people from Bedforshire. In addition, the Council along with the County or Unitary authorities, need to fully consider any infrastructure requirements that would support the level of growth that may arise from such large scale developments. The Parish Council would expect there to be an updated Infrastructure Delivery Plan that supports the Regulation 19 Pre-submission Draft Local Plan, with such updates to ensure that existing provision of services can still be relied upon by existing residents within the Parish.

The site is directly adjacent to the A1. Any development here would rule out any improvements to the A1 in future.
Overall, the land at Flints Field does not offer a truly sustainable form of development, and is thereby contrary to policies contained within the NPPF and of the Council’s adopted Local Plan. Accordingly, the proposed new development should be discounted when considering sites for allocation going forward to the pre-submission draft Local Plan.

This site has now effectively been replaced by Eaton Bank. Please see our comments on Eaton Bank below

100 word summary Flints Field Site 930

Flints Field is unsuitable because: there is a risk of coalescence with St Neots, the location is high quality agricultural land, it is valued as a rural location by its residents, there are no services, the roads are very narrow, it is too far from the new E-W rail station to offer sustainable transport, a large development could cause flooding in St Neots. The transport modelling is flawed and underestimates the number of trips. Development here would rule out any improvements to the A1 in future. (See later comments re Eaton Bank).

Support

Representation ID: 8797

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

We support development of this site. It is adjacent to the urban area and to the likely location of the new East West rail station. It therefore provides options for genuinely sustainable transport as both stations in St Neots are likely to be within walking / cycling distance It is also a smaller site so it would not grow into a new town of 10,800 homes as Dennybrook could. A much larger development such as Dennybrook would have a significant impact on St Neots and its services whereas Little Barford is smaller and would have a lower impact on the town. It is also on the side of St Neots where strategic, planned growth is already happening (Loves Farm and Wintringham Park to the east), unlike Dennybrook which is positioned to the west where the A1 has always provided a clear dividing line between urban to the east and rural land to the west.
Much of the site appears to be grade 3 agricultural land in contrast with Dennybrook which is grade 2.
Little Barford has good connectivity to the A428 (existing and new) and A1.
100 word summary Little Barford site 907
This site is suitable because it will be within walking / cycling distance of the new East West rail station and also close to the existing mainline station. It is close to the strategic growth points in St Neots (Wintringham Park) with good access to the A1 and A421. It is not such good quality agricultural land as Dennybrook – it appears to be grade 3.

Support

Representation ID: 8798

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

We support development of 70ha of this site which is brownfield land as an alternative if Little Barford is deemed unsuitable. At 35dph this could provide 2450 homes which is sufficient to support option 2b with a new settlement if Little Barford was not an option. Brownfield sites should be used in preference to greenfield sites according to the NPPF. We recognise that there are problems with the A6 into Bedford but we believe these issues need to be resolved even with the development proposed for the 2030 plan and to enable residents from the north of Bedford to access the new east west rail. Therefore a new settlement of 2450 homes at Twinwoods would provide the infrastructure funding for this. Sustainable transport could be provided via a parkway station or guided busway and a park and ride bus for the private schools.
The area does not flood, and it is distinct from local villages so there is no risk of coalescence or loss of identity of existing settlements or villages. Development here would support Bedford town centre.
100 word summary Twinwoods site 883
Twinwoods is suitable because it is a brownfield site. Development here could provide infrastructure funding to alleviate the issues on the A6. Eg. by providing a guided busway / park and ride bus for the private schools. The area doesn’t flood and would support Bedford town centre.

Support

Representation ID: 8799

Received: 29/09/2021

Respondent: Staploe Parish Council

This area is a green field site but it is lower grade agricultural land than Dennybrook. The site was supported by Sharnbrook Parish Council when put forward in the previous 2035 draft local plan. If sustainable transport could be provided eg. via a guided busway or parkway station to the new east west rail station and town centre then this site could provide a suitable option.
It was put forward as a suitable site for development in the 2035 Local Plan before this plan was abandoned. Highway constraints were not seen as insurmountable at that time.