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Greenwoods New Town

3rd June 2021

CPRE Bedfordshire supports a local action group which has been launched to help people respond to a proposed development near Wrest Park.

The local action group, “No to Greenwoods New Town”, has been formed in response to the Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) Planning Application CB/21/02011/OUT, Greenwoods, Land North of Higham Road and East of the A6 Bedford Road, Barton Le Clay, Bedfordshire.

There are a number of grounds for opposing the application and the CPRE Bedfordshire planning team have produced a full response to the consultation which you can download at the bottom of the page.  It is also available via the CBC planning portal.

Here we briefly outline three key areas of concern:

 

Protection of the Green Belt

The proposed development would represent encroachment into the Green Belt countryside and would fail to preserve the setting and special character of the historic nature of the setting. Therefore it is in conflict with the purposes of the Green Belt. There are no material considerations that have been demonstrated that clearly outweigh the harm caused to the Green Belt and AONB.

 

Harm to the character and appearance of the landscape

The proposed development, by virtue of its excessive scale and position, would be visually intrusive and harmful to the character of the site and character of the countryside. It is an over-intensive urbanising development which sits outside of all five adjacent village envelopes in open countryside.

 

Local Plan

The Local Plan is at an advanced stage with an option expected in the summer of 2021. Allocations approved outside of the Local Plan at this stage would undermine the process of site assessment and the Local Plan itself.

 

CPRE Bedfordshire response in full

The full details of the planning application can be found on the CBC website.

You can comment on the proposals using CBC’s online form. The consultation closes on July 1st 2021.

 

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Countryside near the proposed Greenwoods site