Site Assessment Pro Formas

Object

Representation ID: 6143

Received: 09/09/2021

Respondent: Savills

The proposals for land at Box End, West of Bedford seek to deliver an exemplar sustainable urban extension
of some 1,150 homes that meets or even exceeds policy requirements in relation to issues such as biodiversity
net gain, renewable energy etc. Critically, the homes will contribute towards much needed market
and affordable housing requirements in the core of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, whilst at the same time
delivering critical social infrastructure such as a new primary school, local centre and extensive informal and
formal green infrastructure. Detail on the proposals will be provided in due course through a ‘vision
document’, inclusive of detailed master planning proposals – there should be no doubt about the intent to
deliver an outstanding living and recreational environment.
Land West of Box End Road, Kempston is identified under reference: 1334, in the Call for Sites. The housing
quantum identified at that point in time is shown as 2,082 dwellings.
We acknowledge that call for sites are part of the evidence base and do not in themselves set policy. We
consider this site is an accessible and sustainable location for residential-led, mixed-use development and
should be identified as such in the emerging Local Plan for Bedford Borough. We support the site described
as Land West of Box End Road, Kempston but following more detailed site assessment and masterplanning
we propose around 1,150 dwellings and associated development.
By and large the assessment of this site under the call for sites process had little site specific evidence
submitted to the Council.
The call for sites assessment identified positive, neutral and negative potential aspects of development at this
site. The potential negative points were not all site specific but nonetheless our responses to the potential
negative points are listed below:
 Site is not within or adjoining the urban area or a defined settlement policy area, or within the built
form of a small settlement. There is insufficient capacity within the urban area to provide for the
minimum requirements under local housing need and hence greenfield land will be required. This
site is well related to the urban area of Bedford and Kempston.
 Protected species on the site. There are no national, regional or local ecology designations and
further ecology work can be undertaken to ensure species are fully surveyed and protected.
 Potential harm to heritage assets. The Historic Environment Desk-Based Assessment, prepared by
Orion Heritage Limited demonstrates this is not the case.
 Site is separated from a defined settlement policy area or the built form of a small settlement. The
same response is relevant here to the first bullet point above.
 Site is not previously developed land. There is insufficient previously developed land in Bedford
Borough and hence to provide for the minimum requirements under local housing need and hence
greenfield land will be required.
 The site includes best and most versatile agricultural land i.e. grades, 1, 2 or 3a. This is relevant for
the wider area of the Borough and is not specific to this site which is considered to only include small
parts of 2 and 3a and is not all arable land.
We consider these few potential negative aspects can equally apply to greenfield land elsewhere in the
Borough which is partially arable in nature. The assessment shows there are no showstoppers to
development. There are positive aspects of the assessment including that there are no access constraints,
no highway or junction capacity issues and no concerns over environmental matters such as flood risk, air
quality, etc.
For the purpose of consideration under the National Planning Policy Framework, this site is within the
definition of ‘developable’ being a site in a suitable location for housing development with a reasonable
prospect that the site will be available and could be viably developed at the point envisaged for example
2025 onwards.
We can confirm that the site is a suitable location for housing development and that the landowners working
in partnership with our developer client intend to make the land available for housing development, subject to
progress through planning and the site can be viably developed.
We would ask that the Council go further and agree that this site is deliverable within years one to five of the
plan period. This is because as well as being available, the site is in a suitable location now for development
which is achievable within five years.