// and Leighton- Growth Area Joint Planning and Transportation Committee 15th September 2006

Agenda Item 5

AUTHOR Joint Officer Team (Andy Johnson)

SUBJECT Landowner Consultation

PURPOSE To update the Committee about the outcome of landowner consultation, information generated from it and the proposed way forward

RECOMMENDATION The Joint Committee is recommended to:

1. Note the key findings of the proposals contained in the submissions as summarised in Maps and Tables.

2. Ask the Member Steering Group to ensure that the preparation of the Core Strategy and Growth Area DPDs pay due regard to the key findings stemming from this exercise.

3. Note that all the information emanating from the consultation is now in the public domain

REASON FOR To appraise the Committee about the outcome of RECOMMENDATION landowner consultation and to draw attention to the key findings contained in the submissions received.

1.0 Background

1.1 Members may recall that at the meeting on 13th March 2006, a report on the above subject was considered, when the Committee resolved to delegate the steering of the next stages of the landowner consultation process to the Member Steering Group (MSG). This report presents the findings of the work undertaken in this regard by the MSG, which has culminated with the holding of the final seminar at the end of July.

1.2 The initial stage of the consultation process, as reported on 13th March 2006 resulted in establishing a database of details about the landowners/developers and their sites. From this database, attendees were invited to an “information giving” seminar on 16th March 2006 at which officers introduced the approach to be undertaken. In particular, the officers advised the attendees that the seminars would be ‘open’ seminars at which all landowners/developers would be invited and that the written representations submitted would form a public record of the seminars.

2.0 Approach Taken

2.1 Following this initial seminar, the attendees were invited (copy of letter reproduced in Appendix 1) to present in a series of 3 seminars held in May and June. Each seminar covered a different part of the Growth Area as follows:

Seminar 1 – 19th May – Land around and Toddington Seminar 2 – 26th May – Land to the North of Dunstable/Houghton Regis and Luton, and around Barton-le-Clay Seminar 3 – 8th June – Land to the South and East of Luton, around and , and to the South of Dunstable.

2.2 During the organisation and facilitation of these seminars, more developers/landowners approached the Local Authorities and a fourth seminar was subsequently arranged on 31st of July covering areas around Leighton Buzzard, Toddington, Hockcliffe, North of Luton, and South of Dunstable.

2.3 Each landowner/developer was allocated 15 minutes for their presentation with written representations providing further detail. A ‘format’ (a copy is reproduced in Appendix 1) was created by officers following requests by landowners/developers for a structure to follow in their submissions. The ‘format’ was designed to reflect the aims reported to this Committee on 13th March, namely to identify the constraints relating the sites, the potential types of development being considered, and the nature of ‘planning gain’ expected to be delivered. Generally, the presentations reflected the ‘format’ provided, and the majority of the written submissions use it as a structure, with each point considered in turn.

2.4 In total 35 presentations were made with a number from the database withdrawing, submitting only written representations or joining with adjacent landowners/developers to form joint presentations and submissions.

3.0 Outcomes

3.1 Figure 1 of this report shows the broad range of locations in which sites are being promoted and the complex nature of landownership. Parcels of land, of varying sizes, are shown around the majority of the edge of the urban areas and a number of the villages. It is important to examine this information in the context of the primary areas of search identified in the MKSMSRS. Figure 2 identifies those sites within, and those outside of the main areas of search outlined in the MKSMSRS. This map clearly illustrates the considerable development pressure outside of the areas of search with approximately two fifths of the total land identified being promoted outside these areas. This highlights the likely need to acknowledge and assess the potential of such sites. This will need to be considered in more detail should the main search areas not provide a sufficient and appropriate number of opportunities to meet growth needs.

3.2 Table 1 outlines the broad range of potential land uses being considered in the growth area including development comprising: entire new communities, housing, retail, hotels, conference facilities, research and development parks, warehousing, airport development, airport parking, road development, open space, country parks, transport interchanges, rail freight terminals, a football stadium etc. Where specified in written submissions, the number of houses proposed has been included. Whilst the majority of landowners/developers have not included a figure in their written submissions, when prompted at the seminars the majority confirmed that they would comply with the future density standards set by the Local Authorities or advised by Government.

3.3 Table 2 categorises the proposals as: mixed development, housing only, employment only and other uses. The table demonstrates that the majority of the landowners/developers are seeking some form of mixed development with 21 landowners/developers proposing such development. However, whilst the exact mix varies, the vast majority of these are focused on housing development. Nine landowners/developers are proposing solely housing development with most comprising small sites in village locations as illustrated geographically in Figure 3.

3.4 It should be acknowledged that the nature of the developers/landowners and the level of work that they have undertaken to date varies greatly and this is reflected in the written representations submitted with some developer/landowners entering into a high level of detail whilst others providing only a brief summary of the location of the site. Therefore, the details provided in the submissions and summarised in Tables 1 and 2 do not represent firm proposals. Rather, they are illustrative examples of the type of development that could be achieved and these proposals would be developed further at design and planning application stages. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the notional capacity to accommodate additional growth represented by all the submission received significantly exceeds the numbers which need to be accommodated in this Growth Area, not including any capacity within the urban area (to be established in the commissioned Urban Capacity Study).

3.5 The seminars have proved an effective and popular way of engaging with developers/landowners. They have initiated a supportive and understanding partnership between the local authorities and developers/landowners in working on the LDF

4.0 Next Stages

4.1 The written representations submitted have been collated to form a ‘library’ of documents that will be available for members, developers/landowners and the public to view. At the time of writing, it is envisaged that the library at the South District Offices will be fully operational by the end of this month followed by the two other authorities (i.e. Luton Borough Council and Bedfordshire County Council) soon afterwards. Unfortunately, this arrangement has taken longer to establish than anticipated due to the level of administrative assistance needed to set up this service and the need to obtain sufficient copies of the documents from the landowners/developers.

4.2 It is likely that additional developers/landowners will approach the local authorities with a view to providing information about their landholding in this Growth Area and these will be encouraged to submit written representations which will then be added to the ‘library’.

4.3 The local authorities will need to consider the wide variety and location of uses promoted and the significant opportunities, challenges and potential conflicts that these, the review of the Green Belt and the Growth Area designation will create. The local authorities officers use the information obtained to inform their own work on issues and options for growth, principally through formal consultation on the Core Strategy and Growth Area DPD but also in associated workshops and conferences, including the forthcoming Green Belt Conference.

Figure 1 – Map of Representations Received

Figure 2 – Map of Sites Within/ Outside MKSMSRS Areas of Search

Table 1 - Landowner Representations Received

Around Leighton Buzzard

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 1 Hives Planning Arnold White Estates 800ha Housing, distributor road, employment, 6000+ & Willis Dawson community facilities, open space, lower, Holdings, & Other middle and upper schools, neighbourhood Landowners centre, local centre 2 Harrison Family 8ha None specified to date - 3 Bloor Homes 12ha Housing and open space 250 4 Jeremy Peters (2 sites) Landowners 2ha Housing 50 Total 822ha

Hockliffe

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 5 Jeremy Peters Landowners 1.2ha Housing 35-50 X Total 1.2ha

Toddington

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 6 Miller & Randall Group Miller Randall 12ha Housing Not X Burke specified 7 Bloor Homes 0.7ha Housing 25-32 X 8 Woods Hardwick 1.8ha Housing 50-70 X 9 Hutchinsons Planning Toddington Estates 31ha Housing and woodland Not X specified Total 45.5ha

North of Dunstable

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 10 David Lock Trenport Investments Not Associates 22ha Housing and open space Specified 11 Pegasus Planning Cemex UK B Derek Horne Land Securities 3ha Informal Recreation - Associates Total 25ha

North of Houghton Regis

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 12 DP9 DSM 75ha Open space, recreation, schools, local Not centre, retail, community uses and housing specified 13 Jeremy Peters & John Landowners 56ha None specified - Drake & Co. 14 Smith Stuart Reynolds Houghton Regis 400+ Housing, park and ride, employment, open Not Development space, social infrastructure, doctors, local specified Consortium shopping, Luton Town Football Club ground (?) 15 Mr Shanley/ 9ha Housing Not Builders specified 16 Bellcross Homes 15ha Housing Not specified A DLP Taylor Woodrow 7ha Housing C Bletsoe & Sons Landowner 9ha Not yet submitted Total 571ha

North of Luton

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 12 DP9 DSM 75ha Inter-modal Transport Facility, Freight related - employment 17 Jones Lang Lasalle Vauxhall Motors 34ha Housing, employment, Luton Town Football Not Club Ground specified 18 DP9 Kadderdale Ltd 2.6ha Housing, village green, community hall 70-80 19 Barton Willmore LTFC, Landowner and 76ha Luton Town Football Club Ground, - Rosemound warehouse employment, park and ride, X Developments Ltd formal sports pitches, training ground, community sports centre 20 RPS Connolly Homes 17ha Housing and parkland Not specified 21 Pegasus Planning North Luton Development 208ha Park and ride, housing, employment, Not Corporation community facilities, open space, local specified centres, northern bypass, Total 412.6ha

Barton – le - Clay

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 22 JB Planning Templeview 87ha Housing, employment, foodstore, open Not X Associates Developments space, primary school, woodland specified Total 87ha

East of Luton

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 23 Carter Jonas Crown Estates 1406ha Country Park, housing and associated 5000+ Partially facilities, employment, open space 24 Terrence Bloor Homes 180ha Housing, distributor road, country park, local Not O’Rourke centres, schools, open space, employment specified Total 1586ha

South of Luton

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 25 London Luton London Luton Airport 242- Improved airport facilities - Airport Operations 340ha 26 Savills Legal & General 550ha Park and Ride, Airport Parking, Public - Assurance Society Transport interchange, Education, research Partially park, employment, retail, hotel and conference facilities, landscaped park Total 940ha

Slip End & Caddington

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 27 Terrence Redway Developments 157ha Housing, open space, airport parking, Not X O’Rourke community uses. specified 28 RPS Landowner 7ha Housing and surface water management 130 X 29 BDLA Trustees of Sambrooke 10ha Housing or employment and open space Not X Trust specified 30 Bellcross Homes 45ha Housing, improved road junction, open space Not X specified Total 219ha

South of Dunstable

Map Agent Representing No. Indicative Development Proposed Indicative MKSMSRS Ref. Hectares No. of Search Houses Area? 17 Jones Lang Vauxhall Motors 23ha Airport parking, housing or employment Not X Lassalle specified 31 Alistair Binnie Mrs Thornton & Mr 13ha Housing, employment, sport/community hall, Not Architecture & Chappell open space specified X Environment 32 Knight Frank Impala Ltd 8.5ha Housing Not X specified Total 44.5ha

Table 2 - Location of Categorised Indicative Land Uses

Indicative Land Use Location of Site Map No. of Type Proposed Reference Hectares Mixed Use East of Leighton 1,2 & 3 807+ha Buzzard Toddington 9 31ha North of Dunstable 10 & 11 22ha North of Houghton 12,13 &14 475ha+ Regis North of Luton 17, 18,19, 337ha 20 &21 Barton 22 87ha East of Luton 23 & 24 1586ha South of Luton 26 550ha Slip End & 27,28, 29 219ha Caddington & 30 South of Dunstable 17 & 31 36ha Total 21 5483ha Housing only East of Leighton 4 2ha Buzzard Hockcliffe 5 1.2ha Toddington 6,7,8, 14.5ha North of Houghton 15,16 & A 31ha Regis South of Dunstable 32 8.5ha Total 9 57.2ha Employment North of Luton 12 75ha Total 1 75ha Other Uses North of Dunstable B 3ha South of Luton 25 242-340ha Total 2 245-340ha

Figure 3 – Map of Categorised Indicative Land Uses Proposed

Appendix 1

Copy of Letter sent to Landowners/Developers sent 5th April 2006

Landowner Developer Format