‘Is time right to submit revised application for 1,500 homes in Biggleswade?’

The outline application, submitted by UK Regeneration, was granted in March 2019, with a revised outline application having been submitted on March 24 to address access points to the sites.

However, Central Beds councillors Adam Zerny, of Potton ward, and Cllr Dr Hayley Whitaker, of Biggleswade South, have criticised the application and its timing.

Cllr Zerny made the following points on social media: that parish and town councils cannot meet to consider planning applications; that planning consultees such as schools and the NHS have more important matters to consider; and that members of the public who are in lockdown without internet access will struggle to find out about planning consultations.

He claimed: “The council should be focusing on protecting the vulnerable, and ensuring food and medication get out. Not planning.”

Dr Whitaker told the Chronicle: “We don’t know what the damage is going to be after Covid-19; is anyone going to have the money to buy a new house? Looking at infrastructure, the town will be struggling to cope. I would encourage residents to join me in objecting to this application via the CBC planning portal.”

A CBC spokesperson said: “Government advice is that where possible council activities should continue subject to social distancing and other measures. While staff may be working from home they are still carrying out business as usual as far as possible.

“We have also been given specific government advice to maintain a functioning planning service. In doing this we will continue to ensure that all decisions we make are robust and meet the requirements of legislation.”

A UK Regeneration (UKR) spokeswoman said: “UKR has been preparing this Application for the last nine months. We did not foresee the dreadful Covid-19 crisis.

“UKR met with Biggleswade Town Council on 25th February (before lock down) in open session, to discuss our new Application as a “pre-application” courtesy. Members of the public were present. UKR submitted the Application to CBC on 13th March. It was registered and on the planning portal on 25th March (note: in error, some documentation from our original 2018 Application was uploaded as well; causing some confusion, UKR has asked CBC to correct this). UKR has written to Biggleswade Town Council to offer support to the Town Council in fully debating the Application and we will write in similar vein to Dunton and Sutton Parish Councils.

“UKR agrees wholeheartedly with this view but we took their views fully into account when consulting on the original Application (which is exactly the same in quantum as this one), UKR also believes that we will need to be ready to move forward decisively once the crisis is over.

“UKR agrees wholeheartedly with this view and we are looking at alternative and safe ways of reaching out to people through other means. UKR will always prioritise community consultation, having already done ten weeks of full consultation with the Biggleswade community on the previous application.

“Of course the vulnerable must be prioritised. This is a global crisis. However the Government has designated Town Planners as a “reserved occupation” precisely because we will need to be ready to rebuild the economy as soon as the crisis is over.

“There is no increase in the number of homes from that which UKR already has a planning permission (i.e. 1500 homes were consented by CBC on 14th March 2019) and this development will be happening anyway. UKR is only trying to introduce two new access points to the development to protect the £69.6m HIF allocation from Homes England (by bringing in a new road for the secondary school which is to be funded by the HIF) and to allow public transport/emergency vehicle access.

“UKR has undertaken extensive transport modelling and can demonstrate that there will be no increase in traffic (further than that from the previous planning permission).

“Like all house builders, UKR is assessing what the likely impacts on the market are likely to be on the housebuilding programme.

“Residents have an understandable concern, but UKR already has a planning consent for our entire scheme and no new land-take will be required, save for that needed for the new access roads.

“Actually, as the new development takes the form of a village emerging from a country park, then UKR is opening up the countryside for local people (the site currently being a working farm and closed off to the public, save for the public rights of way) as part of the Biggleswade Green Wheel. UKR has extensive plans for allotments and sports facilities and park areas within our master plan.

“We are fully pledged to fulfilling the recently ‘Garden Community’ status accorded on Biggleswade by central government. And UKR has a commitment to introducing far more bio-diversity than that which we in inherited on purchasing the site (at full market value in February 2016).”