Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

Comment

Representation ID: 10368

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

Introduction: Context, local and national
Bedford is one of the fastest growing authorities in the UK and delivers its housing need. It is vital that current and future residents benefit from new developments and therefore must have the infrastructure in place to serve their needs.
Claims that local government stops development are false. But it is true that the planning system, set out by the Government, benefits large developers at the expense of infrastructure, health, education and sustainable transport and, fundamentally, local residents.
Due to the way the Standard Method is calculated across the country as a whole, Bedford Borough’s housing target is higher than would be needed if other authorities met their housing need. Because the Borough has met its need, we are unfairly getting a higher target. The local authority should make this position clear to the Conservative Government and residents.
Overall, the Local Plan 2040 must fight for sustainable housing, active travel, access to healthcare, insultation and energy efficiency in the face of the Conservative Government’s cost of living crisis, and local energy generation wherever possible.

Support

Representation ID: 10369

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• The vision: We welcome the vision, which highlights the need for the whole Borough to be “a greener, more sustainable, more attractive and prosperous place to live.” We note and agree with the specific references to River Great Ouse and valley as an asset to the Borough. We are also pleased that explicit support for sustainable transport and local renewable energy generation has been added following our previous consultation response.

Comment

Representation ID: 10370

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• Healthcare provision: Successive Labour and Conservative Governments have put Bedford Hospital at risk – in light of population growth we hope these plans can now be permanently shelved. However, there is a growing crisis in access to GP services and access to primary healthcare, with staffing levels of family GPs in Bedfordshire among the lowest in England per number of patients

Support

Representation ID: 10371

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• We are pleased that the delivery of affordable housing has been prioritised within the Plan, going further than the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support the provision of meaningfully affordable housing, including a significant proportion of social housing to improve affordability. At present many of the so-called affordable homes are “clearly unaffordable to those on mid to lower incomes.”

Comment

Representation ID: 10372

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• With a growing climate catastrophe – that the Liberal Democrats have led action against – threatening the viability of humanity and life on earth, the need for environmentally sustainable housing to be delivered has never been more important. We welcome the measures outlined to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. However, we believe local government needs more powers to ensure developers build low carbon housing. For example, we welcome the new requirements for EV charging points to be provided in new homes, but the Government has not gone far enough. It would be very easy to also add requirements for all new homes to have solar panels, heat pumps and other sustainable features yet they have consistently failed on this basis . Viability assessments on developments are currently used to avoid delivering sustainable and affordable housing. These must be reformed or scrapped to ensure that sustainability in its widest sense is not subservient to maintaining land values.

Comment

Representation ID: 10374

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• Infrastructure requirements must be delivered upfront so that existing residents and incoming residents do not suffer. This includes the delivery of GP surgeries and other health infrastructure, schools and education facilities, green and sustainable transport infrastructure, civic and community infrastructure and on a property-by-property basis, superfast broadband and electric vehicle charging capacity.

Comment

Representation ID: 10375

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• We note the significant difficulty in developing a Local Plan when the government has been unclear and delayed decisions on East West Rail. We support the corridor (route) as selected and have consistently shown our support to keep the existing four tracks north of Bedford Midland and for electrification from day one. The emphasis on sustainable rail-based growth is welcomed.

Support

Representation ID: 10376

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• The protection of green spaces has never been more important, something the COVID pandemic has made abundantly clear. We are pleased that parks, green spaces, golf courses (such as in Great Denham), and other areas of important ecological significance as well as green corridors across the rural and urban areas are explicitly protected in policy.

Support

Representation ID: 10377

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• We welcome the specific introduction of policies to support the vitality and viability of our Town Centres in Bedford and in Kempston.

Support

Representation ID: 10378

Received: 29/07/2022

Respondent: Liberal Democrat Party Bedford Borough Council

• The aim to continue to establish Bedford as a place for innovation is very important. We welcome the emphasis on attracting new high-tech businesses and bringing high-skilled jobs to the Borough, as well as enhancing skills and education.