Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

Object

Representation ID: 10299

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wixams Parish Council

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Wixams Parish Council wishes to make the following comments with regard to the current proposals in the Local Plan 2040 for development of the sites named as Wixams East and Wixams South.
Infrastructure:
We believe that the current infrastructure is insufficient to support additional development so close to Wixams. There has been poor infrastructure delivery to date at Wixams, with a delayed station and town centre and a lack of local GP services. Any additional development without sufficient infrastructure to support it will create additional challenges for Wixams residents. The proposal to extend Wixams goes well beyond what was originally envisaged for the development.
Traffic and Highways:
Wixams currently lacks suitable pedestrian crossings and has seen a number of accidents with children hit by cars. There are currently significant HGV movements through WIxams as a result of local depots and warehousing. Additional housing so close to the existing Wixams development will add further pressure on local traffic and potentially put pedestrians at risk. An additional 2100 dwellings is likely to add over 4000 additional vehicles, putting huge pressure on the A6 and surrounding roads
Loss of green space and environmental impact
We are concerned at the potential loss of green space along the east side of the A6 and to the south of WIxams. Currently there is a clear divide between the villages of Wixams and Wilstead. However, the proposed development looks like it will result in a major loss of green space, with a result that the two separate villages will start to merge into one, as a continuous sprawl of development, with no clear delineation between the villages.

Object

Representation ID: 10300

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Wixams Parish Council

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Wixams Parish Council wishes to make the following comments with regard to the current proposals in the Local Plan 2040 for development of the sites named as Wixams East and Wixams South.
Infrastructure:
We believe that the current infrastructure is insufficient to support additional development so close to Wixams. There has been poor infrastructure delivery to date at Wixams, with a delayed station and town centre and a lack of local GP services. Any additional development without sufficient infrastructure to support it will create additional challenges for Wixams residents. The proposal to extend Wixams goes well beyond what was originally envisaged for the development.
Traffic and Highways:
Wixams currently lacks suitable pedestrian crossings and has seen a number of accidents with children hit by cars. There are currently significant HGV movements through WIxams as a result of local depots and warehousing. Additional housing so close to the existing Wixams development will add further pressure on local traffic and potentially put pedestrians at risk. An additional 2100 dwellings is likely to add over 4000 additional vehicles, putting huge pressure on the A6 and surrounding roads
Loss of green space and environmental impact
We are concerned at the potential loss of green space along the east side of the A6 and to the south of WIxams. Currently there is a clear divide between the villages of Wixams and Wilstead. However, the proposed development looks like it will result in a major loss of green space, with a result that the two separate villages will start to merge into one, as a continuous sprawl of development, with no clear delineation between the villages.