Case for Bushwood (Luton West) on Behalf of Luton & Central Bedfordshire Economic and Development Partnership Ltd
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Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Case for Bushwood (Luton West) on behalf of Luton & Central Bedfordshire Economic and Development Partnership Ltd Prepared by 06.09 Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Case for Bushwood (Luton West) on behalf of Luton & Central Bedfordshire Economic and Development Partnership Ltd Prepared by 06.09 The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options List of Figures Site Identification Plan 03 Indices of Deprivation 07 Landscape Designations 22 Habitat Map 25 Proposed Bus Routes 29 M1 tunnel link bus link 31 Overhead Electricity Lines 32 Bushwood Masterplan 40 Luton West – Area M 48 Luton North – Area I 49 Luton East – Area L 49 iv The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Contents 1 Introduction 01 2 Milton Keynes and South Midlands SRS Compliance 05 Meeting the SRS Objectives 05 Strategy for the Luton / Dunstable / Houghton Regis Sub-Area 05 Strategy for the Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis Sub-Area 08 General Conformity Matters 09 3 Overview and Objectives of the Bushwood Proposals at Luton West 13 Policy Considerations and Compliance 13 4 Examing the Evidence Base 19 Environmental Considerations 19 Transportation 27 Utilities 33 Sports Facilities 35 Noise 34 Employment 36 Viability and Deliverability 37 5 The Bushwood Masterplan 39 Community Stadium, Hotel and Conference Facilities 41 Dedicated Busway 42 Sports Facilities 43 Strategic Employment Allocation 44 Regeneration Opportunities 45 6 Comparison of Preferred Urban Extensions with Luton West 47 7 Updating the Site Matrix 51 8 Conclusions 53 Appendix Proposed amendments to the JTU Site Assessment Matrix planning associates The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Introduction 1.1 Luton and Bedfordshire face a considerable challenge, arising from the strategic planning requirement to deliver some 41,700 new homes by 2031 and 23,000 new jobs by 2021 set out in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy and East of England Plan respectively. 1.2 For those preparing the Development Plan Documents required to implement the strategic growth agenda, it is of course essential that policies and proposals are put in place to enable that growth to be effectively delivered, but at the same time it is equally essential not to loose sight of the rationale that underlies the need for the growth in the first place. 1.3 The test of the success of the Core Strategy is not simply whether or not it allocates sufficient growth locations to meet strategic development requirements, but whether those growth locations actually contribute towards the achievement of a more sustainable and prosperous future for the town. 1.4 Communities faced with accommodating substantial amounts of new development often (and understandably) feel threatened by the prospect, and by the significant changes to their local environment that inevitably arises. 1.5 But new development can be a catalyst for beneficial change, and ultimately the purpose of the growth agenda is to assist in the regeneration of Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis and improve the prospects and opportunities afforded to the local communities. 1.6 The purpose of this document is to explain why the proposed development at Luton West, known as Bushwood, is an appropriate location for delivering a significant proportion of the growth required (indeed, is the most appropriate location of all the alternatives), and is capable of doing so in a manner than maximises the benefits of growth to the wider community of Luton, Dunstable and Bedfordshire. planning associates 1 0 The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options 1.7 The location of the proposed development area is shown on the accompanying plan. It extends to about 327 hectares, lying immediately adjacent to the western edge of Luton, and extending north to the southern edge of Dunstable. 1.8 As we explain in this document, it is an area largely free of environmental and technical constraints to development, and which offers unrivalled potential to deliver a sustainable transport strategy alongside new opportunities for leisure, for jobs, for regeneration, and for community enhancement. 1.9 We have prepared a separate document which examines in some detail the content of the current ‘Preferred Options’ Core Strategy and its accompanying evidence base, and which concludes that key elements of it are not ‘sound’ in the context of Government guidance on core strategies. 02 The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Site Identifi cation Plan planning associates 03 The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options Milton Keynes and South Midlands SRS Compliance MEETING THE SRS OBJECTIVES 2.1 The growth agenda that the Core Strategy is required to deliver stems directly from the objectives of the MKSM SRS. Implementing the SRS is not simply an exercise of allocating land to meet the headline development requirements. It is essential to consider how the growth locations actually contribute to meeting the underlying objectives of the sub-regional planning strategy. 2.2 The table overleaf sets out how the proposed growth location at Luton West performs against those underlying objectives (and includes by way of example a comparison with Luton East and Luton North). 2.3 A key feature of the Luton West proposal is its location in relation to Luton town centre and its proximity to this and other areas suffering from high levels of deprivation. The ability of the scheme to forge new links with those existing communities, and to deliver new opportunities for leisure, employment, and community enhancements, alongside its ability to deliver the necessary social and physical infrastructure to support the development, means that the scheme performs extremely well when compared to the MKSM objectives. ST RATEGY FOR THE LUTON / DUNSTABLE / HOUGHTON REGIS SUB-AREA 2.4 Policy 2 (a) sets out the sub-area strategy for accommodating the level of growth proposed. This includes that LDDs should review the Green Belt ‘around’ the Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis conurbation and should ‘focus’ on two areas of search which would exclude the AONB. Although land west of Luton falls outside of the areas of search the fact that the policy allows for a review of the Green Belt ‘around’ the conurbation and the areas of search may be the ‘focus’ this does not suggest that other areas may not be considered appropriate when considering more locational and site specific matters at the local level of plan making. planning associates 5 0 The Case for Bushwood (Luton West) Luton & South Beds Core Strategy: Preferred Options SRS OBJECTIVES LUTON WEST LUTON EAST LUTON NORTH Major increase in new Proposals deliver Proposals deliver 5,500 Proposals deliver 4,000 homes, meeting needs 5,500 new homes, homes, with a minimum homes, with a minimum for affordable housing with a minimum 35% 35% affordable 35% affordable and a range of market affordable housing, housing. Mix unknown housing. Mix unknown housing. and wide mix, but potential to include but potential to include including specialist wide range of types. a wide range of types. accommodation. Provide for economic Proposals will create a Majority of employment Location of employment growth and developing wide range of jobs from proposals related to next to proposed skills (particularly in manual to skilled, to logistics which tend Junction 11a likely to high value sectors). meet local needs, whilst to be low skilled, but encourage low skilled enhancing access proposals also include logistics uses, but also to further education/ science park and links potential for some training. with university. higher skilled jobs. Locate development Development outside Development outside Development outside in main urban areas to urban area, but strong urban area. Remote urban area. Remote support regeneration links to deprived areas. from deprived areas. from deprived areas. of deprived areas, Will not assist in Will not assist in recycling of land and regeneration or create regeneration or create sustainable travel sustainable travel sustainable travel patterns. patterns. patterns. High standards Proposal capable Proposal capable Proposal capable of of design and of delivering high of delivering high delivering high standard construction, protecting standard of design, standard of design of design, but proposals environmental assets, and protecting key and new green show limited new green and providing green environmental assets space, but significant space and poor links. space. (incl. ecology/arch/ adverse impact on Northern by-pass likely landscape). Around environmental assets to have significant 40% site is new or and landscape. adverse impact on retained green space/ AONB and ecology. POS. Meet infrastructure All infrastructure Development unable Development unable needs generated by provided by developer, to deliver highway to deliver highway development, plan to including local road infrastructure required infrastructure required reduce the need to improvements. High to support it. Halcrow to support it. Halcrow travel, and create more quality public transport evidence accepts major evidence accepts major sustainable modes. proposals as part of road schemes harmful road schemes harmful package of sustainable to sustainable modes to sustainable modes modes and trip