Central Bedfordshire Design Guide SPD

The objectives of the Local Plan referred to in 4.1.2 are weak objectives and not strong enough to implement the needs of the sixth Carbon budget under 2008 Climate Change Act and CBC's Sustainablity plan. of net zero by 2030. There needs to be a at least a 7% modal shift in transport according to the sixth carbon budget and as well as this the congestion in the area and the recent report by CBC public health on excess weight and the importance of active travel makes the transport ambitions not in keeping with making Central Bedfordshire a great Place to work. The levels of ambition for reducing carbon are very weak.

The chapter on resources that has very good information on Passivhaus and low carbon design should be at the start and should be a much stronger thread running through

IN the introduction policies HQ1, T1 and T2 and EE1 and net gain of 10% are much stronger than the objectives and should be quoted.

This part of the design guide should be much stronger on the character of CLophill and Maulden where the fields come into the villages making the Greensand Ridge far more part of the countryside rather than a chunk of development. and the views form the main streets blocked by housing all the way along instead of having gaps. Old buildings that are used for businesses need to be preserved to keep the live work rural atmosphere rather than changing the whole area into gentrified suburbia

Space for communal meeting both inside and outside needs to be key to the design and there needs to be spaces for people to meet and sit and enjoy the landscape and the historic environment and stop along the way. This needs to be linked to the chapter on movement. There needs to be spaces so that people can meet and converse in new developments and along streets.

There needs to be active support for solar roofs over car parks and public open spaces and for insulation and energy efficiency especially in town centres. There needs to be a palatte of materials for solid wall insulation in historic and conservation area. There needs to be far more thought for communal insiade and outside space and also space for artists studios in historic town centres as they play such a role in regeneration and quality of life. Health facilities and other services should be key considerations for town centres.

Wind turbines should be seen as adding to the landscape. The Greensand Country needs to be far more integrated into the overall design and landscape and play a much bigger role.

I support the layout of the streets, the hierarchy and the the need for buildings to overlook pedestrian paths and cycleways. Poundbury is an excellent example of this.
800m is a long way from a bus stop. It is important to have fast direct buses that are on key routes and maybe a a distance of 800 metres away, however provision has to made for buses for the more infirm. Carrying a heavey bag of shopping 800metre can be impossible for many people.

Parking courts should not be allowed in any circumstances s they cause so many problems and people tend to park on the street. streets should be wider with designed in parking. There should be plenty of parking in town centres as this is an area of towns not cities and so the use of one car per household if crucial to access facilities. However really good public transport and cycleways will reduce car use.

7.2.14
This is not strong enough. There have to be connected safe cycle and pedestrian routes from the new estates to town centres, services, schools stations and other villages etc. The through connectivity is crucial to whether a new estate just creates congestion in a town or whether people actually have the choice to cycle or walk safely. This needs to be made stronger so that section 106 for through routes can be obtained. The eastern Leighton Linslade development has no through routes or connectivity for cycling to the rest of the town. As a result the traffic in the town is getting worse and worse. There is a real lack of joined up thinking and lack of officers to deliver on through routes in CBC so this need for through routes needs to be addressed by developers