As you may be aware, The land promoters for a large portion of the Hollands Farm site (Catesbys) have recently put in an outline planning application for 400 houses. The consultation period for responses to this is currently open and has been extended to July 15th (please note this is a further extension from earlier dates). If you wish to respond to this planning application we encourage you to do so ASAP. If you have any thoughts on this matter you should respond!
Please email
planning.wyc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk using the planning reference 21/06215/OUT or comment on Public Access for Planning by putting the planning reference above into a simple search on the planning portal (link here)
https://publicaccess.wycombe.gov.uk Listed below are some of the main points you may wish to raise within your objections. It is important that your objections are independent and in your own words. They must have valid planning reasons behind them (like the points below, not just emotion). Keep them to the point and just about the issues you feel are the greatest problems. You do not need to list everything. We encourage everyone to read all the documents if you get a chance, although realise there are hundreds of pages and you may miss things. One thing KBEG discovered whilst examining all the submitted documents was a plan within the traffic assessment to enlarge the roundabout at Penny's Corner in the Village which would see the destruction of the peace garden and removal of the whole corner area and Village clock. We obviously feel this is unacceptable for the community. KBEG has been working on it's own response for some weeks and will be submitting this to the Council before the 15th July deadline. Some reasons you wish to raise may include;
The Development Brief being prepared by the Council which will help determine the overall plan and help to assess any planning applications is not yet published.
This is an Outline planning application only, not a full planning application and therefore huge fundamental issues like the transport network and access issues will not be resolved in advance of the development potentially getting agreed.
This is only a partial representation of the whole WLP (Wycombe Local Plan) BE2 site (it excludes Capreon/Jackson's Field). Without the plans going in, in conjunction, then how can it be known if they can work as an overall site proposal.
It does not include the entire link road committed in WLP BE2 so there is no guarantee of it being included with any developer who progresses with the build.
It fails to meet WLP requirements for buffers to existing residential areas. Many of the residential areas have a very insufficient buffer zone which is contrary to the plans in the Development brief and those outlined in the WLP for BE2.
Housing numbers in the WLP for the BE2 (Hollands Farm site) state UP TO 467 houses. The site which is now split with 2 land promoters has indicated a total number of 475 houses (400 in the application from Catesby and 75 were proposed in the Capreon/Jackson Field consultation). This exceeds even the numbers in the WLP which in themselves were popularly thought to be excessive in the first instance.
The proposed number of dwellings for BE2 in the WLP was a top number (UP TO 467) based on the housing numbers and assessed needs at the time when the plan was first in the making. Subsequent to that new and up to date housing figures for the area show that the figure of 800 homes allocated to Bourne End has been mostly covered already with other developments and conversions and as such there is now a deficit of only approx 250 homes. Planning for any number in excess to this amount should not be agreed until a new assessment has been done or else the area could end up with over 1000 new homes which was acknowledged in the WLP as being unsustainable for the area.
Housing densities will be double the average for Bourne End and significantly in excess to all adjoining areas, including the ‘hammerhead’ area of Bridgestone Drive. In addition to this, the size of the land allocated to BE2 has been reduced since it was first put forward and adopted into the WLP as the Church land and many of the Farm buildings have now been removed from the allocated area. This reduces the land available and makes squeezing that number of houses and other amenities in, even harder and would result in even higher density.
It fails to meet emerging Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council Neighbourhood Development Plan requirements
It is a questionable and unsafe access solution for Hedsor Road.
Unsafe and impracticable plans for "emergency access" at Heavens Lea. There is great concern that this would also be used for other purposes and accesses directly an incredibly blind and dangerous junction.
The Primary School proposed location is poor with unsafe access for drop-off and pick-up.
A failure to meet or prove biodiversity net gain and climate change measures.
Best Regards
Penny Drayton
on behalf of KEEP BOURNE END GREEN
