Central Bedfordshire Council www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Appendix B: Area B Assessments Central Bedfordshire Council Local Plan Initial Settlements Capacity Study CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL LOCAL PLAN: INITIAL SETTLEMENTS CAPACITY STUDY Appendix IIB: Area B Initial Settlement Capacity Assessment Contents Table ARLESEY ..................................................................................................................... 1 BIGGLESWADE........................................................................................................... 6 DUNTON................................................................................................................... 12 EDWORTH................................................................................................................. 16 FAIRFIELD ................................................................................................................. 19 HENLOW .................................................................................................................. 23 LANGFORD .............................................................................................................. 28 POTTON ................................................................................................................... 33 SANDY ..................................................................................................................... 38 STOTFOLD ................................................................................................................ 44 TEMPSFORD ............................................................................................................. 49 WRESTLINGWORTH .................................................................................................. 53 Central Bedfordshire Council Local Plan Initial Settlements Capacity Study ARLESEY Arlesey is a small town in Central Bedfordshire with a residential population of 5580 people in around 2470 dwellings1. The settlement is bordered to the west by the East Coast Main Line, and is located around 6 miles south of Biggleswade. The settlement extends around 3 miles north to south along the River Hiz valley and is characterised by early linear development and mid-twentieth century estates, with dwellings and residential estates east and west of Hitchin Road, the High Street, House Lane and Church Lane. There are attractive areas of Victorian housing to the southern end of Arlesey and a small historic enclave around St Peter’s Church. The local church, St Peters, is in the north of the settlement around Church End and is over 900 years old. There were 6 operational brick works within the settlement but these are all now closed2. Over many years Arlesey has experienced small-scale piecemeal redevelopment within its built-up area. Such developments have not brought about additions or improvements to facilities and services in the town. For this reason, Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) opted to include provision for large-scale mixed used development (Policy CS1 of the Core Strategy), to bring about improvements in service provision and local traffic conditions. The Arlesey Cross Masterplan was adopted as technical guidance by the Council in March 2014 to assist in delivering this vision. CONTEXT & ASSETS Planning: Arlesey has a designated Neighbourhood Planning Area, that follows the parish boundary3 however the Neighbourhood Plan has yet to be developed. Arlesey is not constrained by Green Belt designated land. People, Community Facilities and Services: The geo-demographic profile4 for Arlesey Ward identifies the area as consisting of “urban renters of social housing”, “mature suburban owners in mid-range housing”, “householders in inexpensive village homes”, “younger households in housing priced within their means”, “elderly people reliant on support” and “thriving families with children and careers”. ONS data5 for the Arlesey ward area shows the median age of residents to be 40 years old. The ONS data also reveals that the ward area has a higher number of residents under the age of 16 than over the age of 65. Arlesey has a collection of services and facilities including 2 community centres, 3 pre-schools/nurseries, a lower school, a middle school, a college/academy, an ATM, a convenience store, 2 newsagents, a post office, a chemist, a GP surgery/health centre, 5 restaurants/takeaways, 2 food serving pubs, 2 non-food serving pubs, a non-food serving pub, a children’s play area, outdoor recreational facilities and a leisure centre. The settlement also has a public library, and other retail shops. Most of the key facilities in Arlesey are at, or close to, the 1 Central Bedfordshire Council (2015) Arlesey Ward Profile 2 Arlesey Parish Council (2016) [Online] http://www.arleseytc.co.uk/about.html 3 Central Bedfordshire Council – Neighbourhood Planning 4 Central Bedfordshire Council (2015) Arlesey Ward Profile 5 ONS (2011) Neighbourhood Statistics- Arlesey Ward Profile May 2017 AIIB_1/56 Enfusion Central Bedfordshire Council Local Plan Initial Settlements Capacity Study Arlesey Resource Centre and the Gothic Mede Lower School. Shops and pubs are dispersed along the principal route through the settlement. Notable towns with superstores close6 to the Arlesey area include Shefford (approx. 5 miles), Biggleswade (approx. 10 miles) and Letchworth Garden City (approx. 5 miles, outside of Central Bedfordshire). The settlement has an active community, with several clubs operating in the area. The settlement has several Leisure Strategy sites7 throughout the town, including allotments and recreation grounds. Arlesey has a small surplus of facilities for young people, but a deficit of countryside recreation sites, urban parks, formal and informal large recreation areas, small amenity spaces, play areas for children and allotments8. Education: Gothic Mede Academy is at capacity and the school site cannot accommodate expansion. Etonbury Academy has existing capacity, although an increase in pupil numbers is predicted in the pupil forecast. An expansion is already planned - more land or a new school site would be required. Samuel Whitbread Academy is close to capacity and cannot accommodate expansion9. Employment: Arlesey does contain a significant employment centre10. Shefford, Stotfold and Arlesey have a combined employment land area of 74 hectares, with most of the employment land being identified as Very Good and Good. ONS data11 for the Arlesey ward area12 shows that 47% of residents are in full time employment, 14% work part time and 11.5% are retired. This area has a higher proportion of residents in full time employment than the average for Central Bedfordshire, and the proportion of residents who are retired is lower. The main industries of employment for residents of Arlesey ward are wholesale & retail, public administration and defence, and health & social work. 23% of ward residents work within the ward and 14% work elsewhere within Central Bedfordshire. The most commuted to location outside of Central Bedfordshire by ward residents is North Hertfordshire13. Transport and Movement: Arlesey has access to the primary road network, being connected to the A507 to the east and north. The settlement also contains a railway station and bus stops for residential use. There is access to the town centre via public footpaths/cycle paths. Rail: Rail services operate to London Kings Cross in the south, and Peterborough in the north. The service between Arlesey and London is a limited-stop service which makes it particularly attractive to commuters and operates frequently throughout the day (a service every 25-35 minutes). Information on rail services is available at the station and this highlights the services operating from the station and the ability to interchange with routes further afield14. 6 Google Maps (2016) 7 Central Bedfordshire Council Leisure Strategy GIS Map Data 8 Ibid 9 Central Bedfordshire Council Education Capacity Information (2016) 10 Employment and Economic Study (2012) Stage 1 Report [existing employment sites] 11 Employment and Economic Study (2012) Stage 1 Report [existing employment sites] 12 ONS (2011) Neighbourhood Statistics- Arlesey Ward Profile 13 Central Bedfordshire Council (2015) Arlesey Ward Profile 14 Central Bedfordshire Council (2013) Arlesey & Stotfold Local Area Transport Plan May 2017 AIIB_2/56 Enfusion Central Bedfordshire Council Local Plan Initial Settlements Capacity Study Bus: Very few bus services operate through Arlesey, with only three bus services operating once every two hours or more frequently. Most buses in Arlesey are interurban services, either passing through or running from the area into major urban areas, notably Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, Bedford, and Biggleswade. There is a lack of bus services which directly serve the train station and this undermines the attraction of public transport based trips as opposed to the car for journeys further afield. Owing to the rural nature of the area, there is no central bus terminus and most stops are kerbside bus stops. The overall quality of the waiting facilities in the area is quite poor15. Road: Arlesey has access to the A1 (M) via Junction 10 to the east of the settlement. The level of stress on the A1 / A1 (M) in the Arlesey and Stotfold area is relatively low. However, the Highways Agency anticipates that levels of stress on the network will increase in the period up until 2026 as a consequence of the increase in demand for travel along the corridor. The A1 / A1(M)