If you responded to the latest planning application for building on the land west of Gold Lane, you ill have had a letter from the Borough telling you that the application is due to be heard at the Planning Committee meeting on Monday 29th April and that the Planning Officers are recommending approval. What that letter does not tell you is that there has been an extension to the consultation period because the applicants have now provided a traffic assessment. The consultation period now ends on Tuesday 30th April. Even if you have already commented on the overall application you may wish to respond specifically to the traffic analysis. Experts who have looked at the traffic report tell us that it is technically inadequate for the purpose and open to challenge on many levels, both in the construction of the survey and the conclusions reached. They will be making detailed comments about this and it would be unrealistic for a layman to attempt to make those arguments.
However, one of the key factors is that the analysis looks at the impact of the proposed development on the traffic flows on the Deep Spinney roundabout but does not address the fundamental problem that access to the new estate would not be directly off the roundabout but from Gold Lane. As everyone in the village knows, Gold Lane is already a busy road and can be dangerous. An additional junction and increase in traffic to accommodate the residents of 160 houses can only make it worse, but there is no assessment of this danger in the report.
So, if you would like to make a further objection to the application, please say that you have already made an objection to the overall application but now wish to address the traffic assessment specifically. You might then state that you believe the traffic survey is unreliable and that it is not fit for purpose in that it ignores the impact on Gold Lane, already a busy, hazardous road (you could add your own experience here).
If you would like to make a further comment about the application reference 18/03100/MAO you must do so by Tuesday 30th April.
You can object by email to planning@bedford.gov.uk and cc greg.logan@bedford.gov.uk. You must include your name and full postal address in your email. Do not be tempted to write from ‘the household’; write separately, and ideally a day apart, to maximise the chance of having your views noticed.
Biddenham Parish Council