Talk To Mid Beds Again!
During the first phase in April this year over 10,700 responses were received , commenting upon 400 potential development sites. During this process developers and landowners put forward over 70 new sites and this second phase will consult on these. No other sites can now be suggested as part of this process and no further consultation can take place on the first 400 sites.
These sites are not the Council’s preferred sites but are new sites submitted by landowners/developers for consultation. Only around 40 to 50 will eventually be allocated for development and these preferred sites will be published for consultation early next year.
Mid Beds must find sites to create a further 9,000 new jobs in the district by 2021 and build 4,400 homes by 2026. These figures make up the balance of overall government targets to provide 14,000 new jobs in the district between 2001 and 2021, and 17,000 new homes between 2001 and 2026, 12,600 of which have already been built or have gained planning permission.
The 70 sites included in this phase are spread throughout the district and the consultation will begin with four exhibitions highlighting proposals in parts of Mid Bedfordshire. These will be held during 8th – 11th July at:
Tuesday 8 July – Lidlington Village Hall - 12.30pm – 7pm
Wednesday 9 July – Weatherley Centre, Biggleswade – 1pm – 8pm
Thursday 10 July – Stotfold Memorial Hall – 12.30pm – 7.30pm
Friday 11 July – Maulden Church Hall – 2pm – 8pm
Previously two-thirds of the responses were submitted via the www.talktomidbeds.co.uk website and all the information on these 70 sites is being loaded onto the website to enable people to respond online when they want to respond.
This latest pahse of consultation runs until the end of August and once completed the results will be added to those already received to produce a final report to be published online in the autumn. Using these comments a list of preferred options for development will then be put forward and consulted on at the end of the year or early 2009.
Ken Matthews, Planning Portfolio Holder said: “We had a terrific response from local people to our earlier consultation and anticipate they will respond as well to this follow up. Once this consultation is completed we will be able to produce a final report detailing people’s views on all the proposed development sites. We will then begin to weigh up which of the nearly 500 sites are both suitable for development and consult again on our preferred options.”
