Gibraltar Corner, Bedford Vision Document Foreword
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August 2020 Gibraltar Corner, Bedford Vision Document Foreword This Vision Document demonstrates and explains how the growth of Gibraltar Corner can be delivered, not just simply as a means to accommodate growth, but to create a sustainable and integrated place. The land identified at Gibraltar Corner, has the potential to help deliver a new neighbourhood of over 250 new homes and support the delivery of new open space and community facilities. Contents 1. The Vision 2. The Site 3. Policy Context and Delivering Growth 4. Assessment Summary 5. Concept Design 6. Next Steps Vision Statement Gibraltar Corner will deliver a sustainable community. It will be a place with a variety of choices to live, play and opportunities for social interaction. It will be a welcoming and sensitively designed environment, with a strong sense of identity and allow nature and landscape to form an integral part of the development. Gibraltar Corner - Vision Document August 2020 01. The Vision Through this visioning work, the bridleway networks, and underpass Provides structural landscape landowners have sought to establish to Kempston Rural School and new planting to prodect the ‘local gap’ a masterplan to deliver a sensitive supermarket between Wooton and Kempston and sustainable community at Gibraltar Corner through achieving the Delivering best practice in Quality of life, with homes for local following key qualities in place making. development which is responsive need, space to live and play, good to ecology, connecting and access to facilities and a place people Creating a positive identity to ensure protecting features and also creating can be proud of. that the development responds to opportunities for new habitats. Key components of the Gibraltar the local landscape and creates a well Corner development could include: defined and understandable place, Creating a sustainable place, utilising and enhancing landscape achieving best practice development • The opportunity to help deliver features. to support sustainable and healthy life over 250 new homes styles. • Mix of housing including Viable and sustainable place, affordable delivering a long term thriving place, Working with landscape assets by • Public open space which provides much needed new incorporating key elements of the • Retained areas of historic ridge and facilities for the benefit of existing and landscape as part of the identity of the furrow green space future residents. development and working with local • Improved access to the countryside features, such as ridge and furrow. • Biodiverse network of green Connected and safe walkable infrastructure neighbourhoods, responding to • Multi-functional SuDS network adjoining areas to integrate with • Enhanced cycle and walking Wood End and Kempston to the east, connections within the including links to the existing cycle and development and into Bedford Quality new homes in a landscaped setting 02. The Site River Great Ouse The sites are controlled by The Site Boundary Crown Estate and covers an area of Way Cemetery Road approximately 20.60ha (50.90 acres). The local land use is predominantly paddock Home Road Branston and agricultural (arable/ pasture). The Green End The proposed development area, as defined within this document, is a direct Gibraltar A428 response to the physical attributes and Ridge Road Buttons constraints of the local landscape, the Ramsey location of hedgerows and trees, views, 04 A428 Wood End Lane connections and the adjoining influences 01 of the existing housing and road network. The Branston Way The Kill 02 Ridgeway A series of background studies has Wood been undertaken to inform this Vision 03 Document, including a preliminary Wootton Rd landscape appraisal, an ecological survey Wiles and a highway assessment. Wood Keeley Lane Keeley Green The proposals will be further refined as Mount Pleasant more detailed studies are carried out. A421 Hall End Bott Homeless End Wood Manor Road Wootton Fig 1: The site Gibraltar Corner - Vision Document August 2020 03. Policy Context and Delivering Growth This Call for Sites proposal reflects the the Government’s ambition to see across the Borough of which four very early stage at which the Borough significant development and the seem obviously aligned to growth at Council has begun to review its infrastructure to support it across the Gibraltar Corner. recently adopted Local Plan 2030. Oxford to Cambridge Arc. The other two, the orange and red options set out in the published The New Local Plan is needed to The routes and timing of major consultation would concentrate major address the relatively short timeframe transport infrastructure will have housing into a very small number of of the adopted Local Plan 2030 and to significant influence on the spatial locations and this would need to be bring forward a positive response to arrangements for future growth and balanced to some degree by much the national and local issues for which these were unknown at the time of smaller scale development of suitable the 2030 Plan was unable to make any adopting the 2030 Plan. and available sites elsewhere. Our realistic provision. view is that Gibraltar Corner can make Post war suburban housing along Ridge Road. The Local Plan Review begins the a positive contribution to whichever New national planning advice and conversation about how and where strategy option or combination is policy objectives continue to emerge future growth should now occur in selected. but some of the most relevant are response to need and investment. The the changes to how Councils identify Council has identified six potential their future housing needs and approaches to the location of growth New housing at Kempston, east of the ring road Site Boundary River Great Ouse Ancient Woodland Way Non Ancient Woodland Cemetery Road High St Ridge and Furrow Branston Home Road Special Area of Conservation The Kempston Green End Listed Buildings Scheduled Ancient Monuments A428 Kempston Gibraltar Primary School Wood Ridge Road Buttons Secondary School Ramsey 4 A428 SEN School Wood End Lane 1 Education The Branston Way School Land Ridgeway The Kill 2 Wood Employment buildings 3 Employment Land Wootton Rd Farm buildings Wiles Keeley Wood Sports Clubs Green Keeley Lane Supermarket Mount Local Food Store Pleasant A421 Hall End Doctors’ Surgery Library Church Bott End Homeless Post Office Wood Pharmacy Wootton Manor Road Public House 1 Parcel numbers Kempston Hardwick Station Fig 2: Land Use and Local Facilities Gibraltar Corner - Vision Document August 2020 River Great Ouse Site Boundary A Roads Way B Roads Cemetery Road Branston Minor Roads High Street ) lk a Green End w Bus Stops Home Road ’ The Kempston 5 1 ( m 0 0 Public Rights of Way 2 ) 1 k l a w ’ Railway Line 0 1 ( Kempston Wood Gibraltar A428 m 0 0 8 Ridge Road On-road route (National Cycle Network) Buttons Ramsey Traffic free route (National Cycle Network) 4 A428 John Bunyan Trail Wood End Lane 1 Pedestrian/ Cycle Path underpass The Branston Way Water bodies 2 Ridgeway Wood 3 School The Kill 800m (10’ walk) from Secondary School Wootton Rd 1,200m (15’ walk) from Secondary School Wiles Keeley Lane Keeley Wood Green Mount Pleasant A421 Hall End Bott End Homeless Wood Wootton Manor Road Kempston Hardwick Station Fig 3: Movement 04. Assessment Summary Site analysis Pedestrian/ Cycle Bus A number of preliminary technical A pedestrian/ cycle underpass provides Bus stops are located around each of studies have been carried out to a safe access to the school from the the sites, running along Ridge Road, examine the physical constraints, villages and is situated to the north east Wood End Lane and also Wootton investigate infrastructure capacity, of the settlement. Road, covered by the number 53 and and establish opportunities to help C1 services, linking Bedford with Milton determine the local development Ridge Road and Wootton Lane both Keynes. capacity. The following summarises our have public footpaths parallel to the key findings. highway, providing good pedestrian Train connections between the settlements Connectivity of Wood End, the area of Gibraltar Kempston Hardwick provides the Forest of Marston Vale leisure trail adjoining the site Corner, and Kempston. nearest rail station, located some 1.5 The A428 Ring Road provides a clear miles to the south-east of the site. break between the Gibraltar Corner There are numerous off road public There are two mainline rail stations sites and the main built up area rights of way, bridleways and footpaths in Bedford, Bedford (mainline - East of Bedford to the east. Wood End in around the site and in particular in Midlands Trains, London Midland and Road runs through the middle of the the form of a leisure route to the west Thameslink) and to the south Bedford village and connects eastwards to the of the sites as part of the Forest of St John’s (London Midland), which links roundabout junction to the A428. This Marston Vale. This provides a strong Bedford to Bletchley. Each are just over leads onto Ridge Road to the east of the activity route running north-south from 4 miles from the site. A428 and provides access to the recent Wootton Road northwards to Wood End housing developments at Kempston, Lane. The site is therefore considered to be including the Rural Lower School. located in an accessible area by walking, cycling and public transport. On this basis it accords with national and local policy guidance, encouraging travel by means other than the private car. Wood End, west of the site with local Public House and music venue Gibraltar Corner - Vision Document August 2020 Landscape character due to expand further in coming years The potential protected species as more woodland is planted, providing constraints are unlikely to preclude The site comprises a number of fields even more natural space for the benefit development of the site but may enclosed by deciduous native trees and of local people and wildlife.