Conservative Councillors call on Bedford Mayor to ‘stop the madness’ and ‘press pause button’ on controversial Local Plan
Bedford’s Conservative Councillors are calling on the Elected Mayor to halt progress on his controversial Local Plan 2040, as a result of changes to planning policy by central Government and the passage of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, likely to become law later this year.
In December, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove wrote to MPs stating that national housing targets would be ‘advisory’ rather than mandatory. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill includes amendments to remove the need for a five-year land supply and would implement a policy of Infrastructure First – a Conservative manifesto commitment.
Conservative Councillors believe that the ground is moving with regard to planning policy, with a new National Planning Policy Framework currently out for consultation.
The Times recently reported (April 7) that 55 Local Authorities have suspended their development plans and Conservative Councillors in Bedford are calling on the Mayor to do the same. Conservative Leader, Cllr. Graeme Coombes, has written to the Mayor, asking him to pause progress on the Local Plan 2040 and to seek legal opinion on scrapping it entirely.
The Local Plan 2040 is currently with the Planning Inspector for scrutiny and public hearings are expected in June and September. The Mayor’s Local Plan has been hugely controversial, particularly in villages along the A421 corridor, where thousands of new houses are proposed.
Conservative Group leader, Cllr Graeme Coombes commented: “The scrapping of national targets and removal of the need for a five year land supply, allows us to look again at development across the Borough. The Local Plan was rushed through in a hurry because the Mayor hadn’t made the last Local Plan sufficiently robust, and the Planning Inspector made him go back to the drawing board and do it again.
His latest effort is no better and proposes a vast swathe of new housing from Kempston Rural, through Stewartby, Wixams, Wilstead, Shortstown to Cotton End. It will create a huge urban sprawl and destroy our villages.
As a result of new Government proposals, he has a chance to think again and stop the madness of the current Local Plan. I urge him to act swiftly and press the pause button before he blights our Borough forever with such destructive and unnecessary development proposals.”
Conservative Mayoral Candidate, Tom Wootton, commented: “It’s clear that we have an opportunity to think again and do the right thing. The Government has changed the rules and we should look again at our housing development proposals. As Mayor, I would write to the Planning Inspector on day 1, asking them to halt progress on the Local Plan.
The Government proposal for ‘Infrastructure First’ is very welcome and gives us the opportunity to talk to Bedford and Kempston residents and our rural Parishes and discuss development that addresses local need, rather than imposing it from on high as the current Mayor has done.”
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