Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

Comment

Representation ID: 9846

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wilden Parish Council

• The 500 homes to be built at Great Barford. We ask that guaranteed new facilities be written into the planning permissions for these homes. For example, the Doctor’s surgery in Silver Street. This is already over-subscribed, making it extremely difficult for our parishioners to get an appointment. The prospect of an extra 1,500-2,000 new patients in Great Barford must surely demand a new Dr’s surgery with adequate parking and access by public transport. This surgery must have an attached pharmacy, as per the Silver Street premise, in order for the needs of present and future residents to be met. We also request that contractors working on these new buildings are not allowed to take short-cuts through Wilden. They should be required to ensure all heavy vehicles, accessing the large new building sites, travel on the Bedford Road/St.Neots Road/Roxton Road/A6/A1/A421.

Object

Representation ID: 9848

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wilden Parish Council

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

• The proposed East West Rail line that you have fully supported, on a route through the centre of Bedford and then out through the unspoiled Bedfordshire villages and countryside, is the wrong choice. We reject the route and are appalled at the secretive methods that BBC used to consort with EWR in order to support this ridiculous project. The Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, has said that Stages 2 and 3 should be scrapped. We stand with him on this.

Object

Representation ID: 9849

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wilden Parish Council

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

• Bedford Borough state that they are working towards a carbon neutral borough. This cannot be compatible with running a diesel freight railway through the centre of town and out through Bedfordshire villages. Should EWR go ahead then BBC should support a much greener route than this, as per the BFARe proposals.

Object

Representation ID: 9850

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wilden Parish Council

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

• The proposed site of the new Wixams station should be suspended until the EWR situation is clear. If EWR is cancelled, or the route changed to one to the south of Bedford, the proposed site could well be in the wrong place.

Comment

Representation ID: 9851

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wilden Parish Council

• Policy NE-1. We agree with a policy of Environmental Net Gain but this is incompatible with your support of a railway line that requires stations being demolished and rebuilt, new concrete multi-storey car-parks and new roads constructed, and extra miles of Bedfordshire countryside being dug up for railway tracks.
• A truly ‘Green Infrastructure policy’ is supported provided that it includes proposals to protect our natural resources. In particular this should include protection for the high-quality agricultural land within Wilden parish.

• We support Policy DM7, an attempt to improve Bio-Diversity net gain, but this should also include protection for older trees, not protected by TPOs, and existing hedges and shrubbery from uprooting and removal. These are important wildlife breeding sites. New planning permissions should include a requirement for the planting of native trees and shrubs in order to build up a true ‘Bio-Diversity’ policy.