Appeal dates set for planning inquiry over controversial housing scheme north of Biggleswade

A three-day appeal hearing is scheduled to reconsider the outline plans for up to 416 homes, including affordable housing, which were rejected by councillors.

The hearing is due to take place at Central Bedfordshire Council’s Priory House headquarters in Chicksands on Tuesday, August 13.

The scheme for a 43-acre site north of Furzenhall Road was refused by the local authority’s development management committee last August.

Applicant Hallam Land Management’s proposals locate the properties to the east of the East Coast Main Line railway, with access for vehicles to be secured from Furzenhall Road.

There would be green infrastructure accommodating landscaping, allotments, community orchard, a public open space, and a children’s play area. Other features are new roads, parking, cycleways and footways, and associated infrastructure.

The planning inspector has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is expected to sit for three days to consider the evidence. The timetable may allow for a site visit.

CBC planning officers recommended approval of these outline plans, which was labelled “very disappointing news” at the time by Biggleswade town councillor Mark Knight.

He posted on Facebook last year: “The planning officer is recommending approval despite opposition and a wealth of evidence against the proposal being supplied by Biggleswade Town Council. There’ve also been more than 1,500 objections submitted. This is very disappointing news. Stopping this development now hinges on how the CBC councillors vote on this.”

Another application has been submitted by Hallam Land Management to CBC, earlier this year. That is yet to be considered by the planning committee.

In the accompanying documentation, Agent Carter Jonas said: “The majority of the site is located within land allocated for residential development in the adopted Central Bedfordshire Local Plan.

“A previous application for the same quantum of housing accommodation on the allocated site was refused permission because of the proposed access arrangements, including a single point of access from Furzenhall Road.

“These plans contain an extra vehicular access from the roundabout at Potton Road and Baden Powell Way to specifically address the previous refusal reason around site access.

“This proposed scheme was discussed with CBC at a pre-application workshop in January. Those talks focused on highways, landscape and ecology matters.

“The development with its revised access arrangements were discussed with CBC Biggleswade councillors in February and presented to a meeting of Biggleswade Town Council in March.”