Central Bedfordshire Local Plan to 2035

Central Bedfordshire have been working on a new local plan for some time now.  There is plenty more detail available here.

Whilst there have already been various elements of public engagement as part of the evidence gathering process, they have only now reached the stage of the first statutory public consultation (known in planning terms as Regulation 18).  The consultation period will be open from 04 July 2017 and close on 29 August 2017 (a period of eight weeks); during that time there will also be opportunities for people to ask further questions and seek clarifications.

Residents of Caddington, Slip End and nearby hamlets will no doubt take a keen interest in the draft plan given that the dreaded phrase "west of Luton" is rearing its ugly head again.  I suspect that opinion will be split on whether this is a good or bad thing; that split is not likely to be an even 50/50.

It needs to be understood that the pressure to provide new housing (and associated jobs and infrastructure) in this part of the country is overwhelming.  Politicians from different sides may argue over the best way to provide this housing but none of the major parties take a position which reduces the numbers.

Central Bedfordshire can not avoid significant amounts of housing being provided in the short and medium term (this plan looks through until 2035) and, if that is accepted as fact, then it follows that having some sort of structured approach through a Local Plan is the approach needed to try and plan for and address the infrastructure issues that are intrinsically linked to sustainable development.

Failure to deliver an up to date Local Plan leaves the authority more exposed to hostile applications from developers and also at risk of Central Government intervention to take control in the absence of a plan.

The nature of Regulation 18 is consultation on a DRAFT plan; feedback received plus ongoing work on whether sites are deliverable and sustainable will then further refine the detail before Regulation 19 consultation in about a year's time.  This consultation is about OPTIONS for growth; the areas up for discussion are not yet filtered down to preferred options and some may well be dropped as the process continues.  Similarly, the map and accompanying narrative deals with broad locations and not specific sites.  By consulting on more than might eventually be needed, there remains flexibility within the consultation process to further filter out unsuitable sites.

People can (and indeed should) play an active part in commenting on the draft plan and helping shape the further refinement of the plan over the next year; people will have right and proper concerns about their particular part of Central Bedfordshire but everyone should be absolutely clear that failing to deliver a local plan would be the worst possible outcome for all of us.  Please do follow the links, study the evidence base and comment as you see fit.

Development in neighbouring authorities

There is an interesting article on the front page of this week's Luton On Sunday, which also features prominently on their website.

Luton On Sunday 11-Sep-16

Cllr Shaw expresses his frustration that whilst development will all likelihood impact most heavily on the infrastructure in one authority area, the eventual Council Tax receipts will go to the authority on whose land the development actually sits.

These are very valid concerns; it is referenced that there needs to be meaningful dialogue between different areas when determining these "on the border" developments and the provision of school places, medical facilities and so on.  I do hope the same logic is applied to application 16/01146/FUL, which seeks to place in excess of 400 flats on land adjacent to Caddington Road & Newlands Road.

Slip End needs two new Parish Councillors

Due to one retirement and one house move, Slip End find themselves with two vacancies on the Parish Council.

The clerk [Peter Segal] can be contacted via clerk@slipend.co.uk .

September crime statistics

Figures courtesy of Bedfordshire Police

Only three of the six parishes received so far; others will be added when available.

Luton Town FC acquire land at J10a

The front page story from today's Luton On Sunday:

Luton On Sunday, 30 August 2015

This announcement doesn't really reveal anything that wasn't known already.  Luton Borough Council have previously identified the land as suitable for a stadium; that's helpful in a planning application but not a guarantee that the landowners wish to do that with the site.  It is worthwhile noting Gary Sweet's comment "it could also serve as a valuable asset to help deliver a stadium elsewhere or nearby".

No doubt this will provoke a lot of debate, for and against, as the wider picture emerges.

July crime figures

Figures supplied by Beds Police

June crime figures for the ward

Figures courtesy of Bedfordshire Police

Domestic burglary is down (only a single instance across all six parishes) compared to the trends seen over the last couple of years, although theft from motor vehicles and/or interfering with motor vehicles is significantly up.

Shoplifting from the Co-Op in Caddington appears to be a recurrent theme over recent months, and there is one other geographical area which is becoming a hotspot for petty criminal behaviour in its own right - further discussions will be had on this topic.

Crime report summary, May 2015

Collated from Bedfordshire Police summaries by parish

Roadworks bulletin: Slip End

A few items are scheduled for Slip End this coming month:

• Church Road between 1st & 3rd June - pothole repairs, expect temporary 2 way signals
• Ross Way between 3rd & 5th June - Stop/Go boards in the area of the school for lining, signs & posts
• Markyate Road between 4th & 10th - multi-way signals whilst BT carry out works
• Crawley Close between 25th & 26th - roadway resuracing

April crime statistics [Caddington ward]

Table prepared from crime report summaries supplied by Bedfordshire Police

Training re. new defibrillators in Slip End

Information courtesy of Cllr Sarah Minnighan, Slip End Parish Council

There are now two AED defibrillators installed in Slip End Parish, one at the Village Hall and one at the Peter Edwards Hall. 

There is a free training session running tonight, Friday 13th March 2015, at The Village Hall from 7.00 pm for approximately 90 minutes.  It's open to everyone, please do pop along if you can.

For more information on AED defibrillators check out the Community Heartbeat Trust website.

Junction 10A - changes from this weekend

A reminder that a new road layout becomes operation tonight, and there will be road closures over the weekend.

8pm, Friday 27 February

New road layout will be in operation from 8pm Friday 27 February and this information is not yet available on current mapping. Please follow the direction/diversion signs and ensure you stay within the speed limit.

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M1 Spur Road and New Airport Way (A1081)

Full closure, eastbound carriageway (heading to airport), no exiting M1 at J10

Description: M1 between Junction 10 and Junction 10a and New Airport Way between Kidney Wood roundabout and Capability Green will be closed for the whole weekend.
Closes: 8pm, Friday 27 February
Opens: 6am, Monday 2 March
Delays: Likely

London Road, north and south of Kidney Wood roundabout, Luton and Central Bedfordshire

Description: Diverting traffic through new underpass involving:

• two-way lights (09:30am to 3:30pm) at location of new road tie in (near Junction 10a roundabout)
• three-way traffic lights (at all times) at the new road tie-in just north of the junction of Newlands Road and London Road

Starts: Friday 27 February
Finishes: Monday 22 March
Delays: Likely
​

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M1 Spur Road

Partial closure, both carriageways

Description: Night time closures in both directions for central reserve work.
Time: 8pm to 6am
Date: Monday 2 March to Friday 27 March
Delays: Likely

Further details are available here.

How well supported are the legal challenges?

A subject that I have covered before on here (blogpost Feb 2014) surfaces again in a small piece carried in today's Luton On Sunday.

Luton On Sunday 25-Jan-2015

When you hear opinions like "it's a fight to the death" to achieve development West of Luton and expand Luton into Caddington & Slip End, it is reassuring to know that such views are not necessarily universally held.

It would take an incredible shift in the popular vote for Labour to lose control of Luton Borough Council, but it will be interesting after May 7 to see who controls the Labour administration in the town.

Slip End Mountain Rescue Team

I am looking forward to tomorrow night's meeting of the Slip End Mountain Rescue Team, where there will be an update on activities during 2014 and also a special report from the European liaison officer, currently visiting from Germany.

I suspect that there may also be a glass raised in memory of founder members and absent friends.

CBC resurfacing programme for November 2014

Sites in Slip End (as per earlier blog piece), Hyde and Caddington are scheduled for various works this month.

October crime figures

Summarized figures from Bedfordshire Police

One of the two burglaries in Hyde concerned dog kennels being broken into; gun dogs had been stolen, one of which has been recovered and with a named offender.

Studham had only one recorded crime during October, plus two incidences of anti-social behaviour.

Kensworth continues to see persistent problems with issues like vehicle crime and criminal damage and Caddington's problems with domestic burglary remain.

Street maintenance, Slip End

Summer Street, Slip End

Summer Street and New Street in Slip End are scheduled for carriageway maintenance works.

The work is planned to take place in two parts.  Removal of the existing surface and application of a new base will take place over a period of up to four days commencing 07 November; the top surface will then be laid and the lining reinstated over two days commencing 24 November.

In each case, works are scheduled between 08:00 and 18:00.  There is also the usual caveat with advance notifications that dates are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

A letter is being distributed to affected residents with the above information and the answers to some frequently asked questions.

Local press coverage of Woodside incident

2014-09-21 Luton On Sunday

Inspector Hitch addresses Caddington & Slip End

Caddington Sports & Social Club was full this morning as plenty of villagers from Slip End, Caddington and surrounding hamlets came to listen to local policing Inspector Jim Hitch.

This meeting was arranged at very short notice following the recent events in Woodside and public concerns as to what had (and had not) happened.  There was no formal agenda, but Inspector Hitch spoke for 10-15 minutes and then took questions from the public.

To recap, last Sunday (September 14) a member of the public saw two men in a field in Woodside; this was away from the public footpath and not somewhere people are normally seen and so their presence, coupled with their apparent use of some sort of monocular or range finding device, appeared suspicious.  The member of the public approached the men and challenged them; they ran away without responding.  The incident was reported to the Police by calling 101.

The Police referred the report to an appropriate senior officer who, against the background of the heightened alert against potential terrorist threats nationally, decided that the incident merited further investigation.  The local policing team secured the site and a specialist counter-terrorism team covering the eastern region of England and supported by SO15 (Scotland Yard counter-terrorism) took charge of the investigation, which is ongoing.  Other than a piece of paper recovered by the member of the public who made the original report, no further evidence was found.

Inspector Hitch confirmed that, contrary to some rumours which have been circulating, the piece of paper did NOT contain instructions on targeting planes or details of an attack.  The unidentified men's presence in the field and their activities could have been innocent (plane spotting or bird spotting) but, as they did not remain in the area to speak to Police, nothing can be absolutely confirmed or ruled out.  The specialist team continue to investigate and have also spoken to local residents who wished to report other incidents they have been concerned about in the past.

The general message from the Police is that there is no particular reason to feel unsafe or under threat but if you do see anything that you consider unusual or causes concern then please do ring 101 or 999.

Update: a resident has forwarded me a copy of their much more detailed notes which they were happy to share with the wider community - available here.

Caddington meeting with Police next Saturday

From Tony Hansen, Chair of Caddington Parish Council:

The Parish Council and Cllr Richard Stay have arranged a public meeting with the local Policing Inspector to hear of any concerns you may have, following the incident in Woodside last Sunday.

The venue is the Caddington Sports and Social Club at 10am THIS Saturday.  We do not have time to leaflet the village so please share this post with as many people you can and tell your neigbours and friends.

 

Whether you can attend the meeting or not, the Police would like to remind everyone to be vigilant at all times and if you do see something not right then ring 101 or 999 depending on how suspicious you feel it is.