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Bedfordshire Matters Newsletter

CPRE Bedfordshire produce a bi-annual review, Bedfordshire Matters, which highlights some our current issues and campaigns in the county as well as informative articles about Bedfordshire and its people. Bedfordshire Matters Spring/Summer 2012 Issue 49, in printed format, is available free to CPRE Bedfordshire members and is also available free online as a PDF (1.7MB) - download here

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights ofSpring/Summer Issue 49, 2012

25 Years Young celebrating a quarter of a century of countryside protection

Geoff Lambert, our current chairman and Michael Brooks, our founding chairman who was instrumental in setting up the branch, celebrate the history and value of CPRE Bedfordshire.

Localism, New Home Bonus and evolving planning changes - Tom Harding

The gradual evolution of what is termed ‘Local Planning’ is of interest not for what is said but what remains unsaid by Local Authorities such as Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC). For example, in connection with residential planning, town and parish councils will be consulted on where new homes will be built, but not on how many.

Leighton Buzzard – Eastern Expansion - Thurstan Adburgham

A fourth application for an Eastern Urban Extension at Leighton Buzzard has now been submitted proposing 2500 new homes. As with the previous three, CPRE has objected to this latest application on a number of grounds.

Biogen Appeal - Peter Scott & Gerry Sansom

After consulting with opponents of an application for an Energy Recovery Facility at Milton Ernest regarding the effect the Covanta decision might have on their arguments, Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, took the decision to dismiss the appeal thereby refusing permission for this development.

Other articles:

County Minerals & Waste Consultation
A428 - A6 link road (Western Bypass Scheme)

Download Issue 49 Spring/Summer 2012 (PDF 1.7MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Autumn/Winter Issue 48, 2011

A Setback and an Opportunity
Setback: Despite a comprehensive objection by the Branch to the Covanta application to build a 585,000 tonne per annum waste incineration plant at Stewartby, requiring a building 43 metre in height with an exhaust stack of 105 metres, the new (and soon tobe abolished) Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) has granted consent for the development, to the dismay of local community pressure groups who have campaigned long and hard in opposing the scheme.

Read about the Oppportunity on pages 3/4 of this issue.

The Planning System - How can I make it work for me?
With funding from Government, CPRE combined with the Association of Town and Parish Councils are organising countrywide workshops giving advice and guidance to communities to help them engage with their local planning system.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
CPRE Bedfordshire has submitted a response to the Government’s consultation on the proposed new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Around the County

Bedford Borough (North Bedfordshire): Allocations & Designations Plan, Wind Farms Updates
Central Bedfordshire (North): Local Development Framework, Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document (DPD)
Central Bedfordshire (South) & Luton Borough: Luton & Southern Bedfordshire Core Strategy

Download Issue 48 Autumn/Winter 2011 (PDF 4.8MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Spring Issue 47, 2011

Living Countryside Awards go from strength to strength
In 2010 CPRE Bedfordshire's 'Living Countryside Awards' scheme again attracted a large number of diverse and high quality entries.
On this occasion the awards were presented by Tony Juniper, widely acclaimed 'eco-warrior', at a large gathering at Howbury Hall, Renhold on 11th December.

Rookery Pit South, Stewartby - Covanta
CPRE Bedfordshire has now submitted its final written submission of objection to this proposal to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), the organisation set up by the last government (and due to be abolished by the present) to determine applications considered to be of national importance.

Bedford Borough (North Bedfordshire) - Wind Farms Update
Of the three windfarm applications in North Bedfordshire none as yet has been finally determined. In other words none have been approved.
Read the latest about the proposals at Poddington, Chelveston and Nun Wood and the giant turbine proposed at Heath & Reach, further south.

Central Bedfordshire Council
Luton & South Beds Core Strategy-CPRE has commented on the ‘Submission’ stage and we aim to pursue issues at the Strategy’s ‘Examination in Public’ in the summer. The ‘Bushwood’ scheme for expansion west of Luton does NOT form part of the ‘Submission’ Core Strategy.

Local Transport Plans
CPRE campaigns to ensure that the Local Transport Plans for Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire reflect the needs of rural communities and provide sustainable solutions.

Village Profile - Blunham
Read about Blunham today and gain an insight into its history

New Volunteers

Alex Munro
Alex, a chartered planner, joined the Branch as a planning volunteer last October. Following completion of a Masters degree in 2003, Alex moved from his native Scotland to the Bedfordshire area where he has strong family connections.

Lucy Pollard
Though born in Lincolnshire, Lucy has lived in Bedfordfor over 20 years. As a career change, from looking after children, Lucy gained qualifications in the field of administration. Keen to use her newly acquired skills, Lucy sought opportunities through the Bedford Volunteer Bureau and after contacting several voluntary organisations she found CPRE and decided she would like to volunteer with the branch.

Download Issue 47 Spring 2011 (PDF 2.7MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Summer/Autumn Issue 46, 2010

CPRE response to coalition policy
In late May the National Office of CPRE issued a paper looking for the Government to address challenges in the following areas:
Housing, Twenty-first century planning, Protecting the natural environment, Green transport, Promoting urban renewal and Farming.

Energy from waste proposal, Rookery Pit South, Stewartby - Covanta
Labelled as a power plant, this propsal is in fact a waste disposal incinerator of a designed energy output requiring determination by the national Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) rather than by the local authority

Around the County
A variety of aticles on matters such as:
Local Development Framework, Rural pubs - the loss continues apace, Wind Farm Appliaction at Langford and Luton & South Beds Core Strategy

Conserving Bedfordshire's Trees
For some time now orchards have been moving up the scale of public consciousness - both nationally and locally.

Download Issue 46 Summer/Autumn 2010 (PDF 2.7MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Winter Issue 45, 2009

 

Putting CPRE Befordshire on the map
In their different ways Marina Voikhanskaya and Nicholas Crane have done just that!

Living Countryside Awards 2009
Nicholas Crane, Vice President of CPRE, duly presented the Branch's Living Countryside Awards at a large gathering held at Milton House Barn courtesy of Mr & Mrs Clifton Ibbett.

Major Planning - East of England Plan
Alice Crampin's update
In June we attended a further stage of the Review of the EEP where the focus was on the Milton Keynes expansion into Bedfordshire. MK Council and Central Beds Council had moved closer together on the numbers required to be accomodated in Bedfordshire ....

Climate Change - Energy from Waste
Barry Halton and Martin Towlson
The Marston Vale is in focus as the site for at least one or two new potential waste processing schemes. The consortium of the Councils which made up the former Bedfordshire has been working on the CEaR (Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling) project. The intention is to base the scheme at the reception area of Brogborough landfil site .

Village Profile - Shillington
Twelve miles south-east of Bedford on the north-eastern edge of th eChiltern Hills lies the village of Shillington, partly within the Chilterns Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty.

Download Issue 45 Winter 2009 (PDF 1.2MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Spring Issue 44, 2009

 

Countryside and Design Awards
The Branch Awards ceremony took place at the end of 2008 and marked the successful completion of an initiative to encourage positive new developments in the county. Conceived as a celebration of 21 years active campaigning in Bedfordshire, it expressed CPRE’s commitment to new development which enhances the landscape and the built environment within it. ...........

Climate Change Issues - Water Resources and CPRE
Dr. Alan Apling explains
Rivers and streams are a vital part of Bedfordshire’s landscape - from the Great Ouse and the Ivel rivers to streams like the Ouzel, Hiz, Flit and Elstow Brook. Their health, in terms of maintained flows during dry periods, resilience to flooding, high levels of oxygen and low levels of pollutants, depends critically on the demand for water resources and management of waste water and rainwater run-off from built-up areas. ...........

South Bedfordshire & Luton
Totternhoe Lime & Stone Co. Site
The historic Totternhoe limeworks is now closed. Following refusal of an application for the site’s redevelopment for housing, the owners are looking at commercial re-use. An application was submitted (currently withdrawn) for a waste recycling operation on part of the site involving intensive lorry movement along the residential road to the site. This was widely opposed. .........

Village Profile Bletsoe
Situated 7 miles north of Bedford, Bletsoe lies on the eastern slopes of the Ouse Valley in the old ‘hundred of Willey’ (from welig – the Old English word for willow-tree – probably marking a community meeting place). In the Bedford Borough Landscape Character Assessment the area is described as small to medium scale landscape with an enclosed, peaceful character. ..........

Download Issue 44 Spring 2009 (PDF 2.7MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Autumn Issue 43, 2008

 

Eco Towns ... the latest threat to the countryside
On 20 September 700 people, supported by local MP Nadine Dorries, marched from Marston Moretaine along the A421 to show their opposition to the proposed Marston Vale Eco-Town. Villagers from Marston, Lidlington and Brogborough were there and CPRE was represented by Alice Crampin .......

Settlement Policy Area (SPA) Consultation
CPRE has recently commented on the Borough’s review of SPAs - sometimes called village envelopes. These enclose the main built-up part of the village where some development could occur without moving into the open countryside. Loosely knit settlements do not have SPAs and to protect the countryside, strict control is exerted over development here.

New Luton Town FC Stadium & Warehousing Development, M1 Junction 12, Toddington
As readers may be aware, Goodman International has withdrawn this application – for the moment anyway! ........

Village Profile - Eaton Bray
This historic village, built of stone, brick, timber and some thatch, with more modern infill, lies at the foot of the Downs about 3km to the west of Dunstable.
In the Doomsday Survey of 1086 Eaton appears as Eitone derived from eg – island + tun – farm/homestead/settlement, though here it appears to refer not to an island but to the watery nature of the area which consists of a large number of springs and small streams.

Download Issue 43 Autumn 2008 (PDF 1.7MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Spring/Summer Issue 42, 2008

 

Wind energy ... a capricious resource
For good reason, renewable energy is high on the global agenda, and in terms of technological development wind generation currently leads the field. But despite the existence of this resource, it’s not always ‘plain sailing’......

Eco-Towns
The Government has announced its proposed list of sites for eco-towns in England. The Prime Minister has committed the Government to build up to 10 eco-towns with between 5000-20,000 homes in each.
In Bedfordshire, an area has been identified in the Marston Vale where Eco-Town development might occur .....

Countryside Clutter
Bedfordshire Matters has regularly highlighted concerns about unauthorised roadside advertising and the ever-increasing rash of roadside traffic signs that blight the rural landscape. The former is the result of weak monitoring and enforcement by District Councils, the latter the County Highways Department’s slavish and insensitive adherence to ‘national standards’ and pursuit of over-engineered solutions to village traffic-calming, involving pinchpoints and a veritable barrage of assorted signs and lighting structures verging on the grotesque. ......

Market Town Profile - Potton
A small market town with a population of just under 5000, Potton is a very ancient settlement lying in the old Biggleswade Hundred.It appears as Potune in a land grant of A.D. 960 and in the Doomesday survey of 1086 as Potone. The suffix tune or tone refers to a farm or settlement, while as might be expected the prefix refers to the making or presence of ‘pots’, which seems feasible since there is underlying gault clay in the area. ...........

Download Issue 42 Spring/Summer 2008 (PDF 3.9MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Autumn Issue 41, 2007

 

Implications of two major planning decisions where the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has reversed judgements made by a Government Planning Inspector. Warren Wood in Mid Beds will now be lost to Center Parcs, (see The Guardian cartoon) while the village of Renhold is closer to being absorbed by Bedford

The South –East Regional Plan proposals which could see a major extension of Milton Keynes city into Mid Beds, around Aspley Guise

Reports on the latest stages in the formation of the three Districts’ Local Development Frameworks which will guide planning developments over the next few years.

Green Infrastructure plans for the county showing why corridors of green spaces for new developments are seen to be as important as other forms of infrastructure, such as transport and hospitals.

Major planning proposals-1/ Nirah development at Quest Pit approved by the County Council as an outline application 2/Proposals to re-locate Luton Town Football Club, onto Green Belt land near Junction12 of the M1, lead to major local opposition at the vast areas for ‘enabling development’

Transport News on the ‘Luton Dunstable Busway’, formerly ‘Translink’, the Dunstable Northern Bypass, M1 widening and the halting of new runway proposals for Luton airport which reflects the massive opposition to the scheme, particularly from Hertfordshire residents.

Michael Jefferson, international expert on renewable energy, writes about the flawed proposals for Bedfordshire.

CPRE ‘s coalition campaign against changes proposed in the Government’s Planning Reform Bill. These would hasten major developments while sidelining communities and the environment.

CPRE’s new Intrusion maps which show the alarming pace at which noise and visual intrusion are devaluing our countryside

Reports on the branch’s 20th anniversary events

Profile on Pavenham village, past and present

Download Issue 41 Autumn 2007 (PDF 2.1MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Spring Issue 40, 2007

 

This commemorative issue celebrates 20 years of the branch’s work protecting the countryside, as 2007 marks our 20th anniversary. It is shorter than regular issues but throughout are full colour photographs, in order to show off some of the best of rural Bedfordshire’s landscape.

A short history of the branch by Alice Crampin, a founder member.

A selection of the many issues and events in which the branch has been involved

Update on the possible implications for Bedfordshire of Milton Keynes city expansion

Concerns that the Secretary of State (Ruth Kelly) proposes to rule out any compensatory creation of new Green Belt (for loss in South Beds), ignoring the fact that there is potential for its expansion in Mid Beds, to prevent coalescence with MK city.

Brief reports on planning proposals across the county as reported by branch volunteers

- in North Beds : Bedford River Valley Park and Windfarms
- in Mid Beds: Nirah Outline Draft Application, Center Parcs’ public inquiry, Green Belt to be retained adjacent to Flitwick Moor following High Court challenge
- in South Beds : Luton Town Football Club, Dunstable Downs’ new Visitor Centre, Totternhoe Lime Works-Appeal Result
-Transport news : Dunstable northern Bypass and Translink.

Branch events- past and future

Download Issue 40 Spring 2007 (PDF 2.2 MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Autumn Issue 39, 2006

 

Landscape Character Assessments conducted by the County Council-a new planning tool to designate the quality of landscapes. This is discussed alongside CPRE’s new package to help communities produce their own Landscape Character Statement.

Alice Crampin updates on the Panel Report (published in June) following the Examination in Public (EiP) of the East of England Plan (which will determine the scale, shape and speed of development in the region to 2021). The Report recommends a further 4,600 dwellings for Bedfordshire above those proposed in the Milton Keynes & South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy and more for other areas in the Eastern Region. CPRE and the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) are still concerned about the impact of the growth on local communities, infrastructure capacity and environmental limits and feel that the Panel has failed to carry through its commitment to sustainability principles.

Alice Crampin reports on the chosen option for the expansion of Milton Keynes city which could see some 3,200 new homes built in Bedfordshire.

Further planning proposals across the county as reported by branch volunteers

Roy van de Pol discusses the need for improving the availability of affordable rural homes

Thurstan Adburgham writes on three major bypass schemes

CPRE launches a new campaign with a revolutionary way of mapping tranquillity, a key feature of the countryside which CPRE wants to see embedded in planning policy documents.

Branch events- walks, festivals, presentations

Profiles on Pulloxhill village and local walks in this historic rural settlement.

Autumn 2006 issue available free online as an Acrobat PDF (1MB) file to download here (1.0MB)

 

Bedfordshire Matters - Highlights of Spring Issue 38, 2006

 

Launch of the branch’s new presentation - why Bedfordshire’s landscape is worth protecting and how you can still influence future plans.

Alice Crampin reports on The Examination in Public (EiP) into the East of England Plan which will determine the scale, shape and speed of development in the region to 2021.

Milton Keynes city expansion options - find out how Bedfordshire could be affected.

Luton Airport Expansion Master Plan - "an environmental disaster if implemented" says Thurstan Adburgham

Progress on campaigns - light pollution, signage clutter and quiet lanes

Further planning proposals across the county as reported by branch volunteers.

Profiles on Carddington village and John Dony Field Centre from our editor Peter Scott

Spring 2006 issue available free online as an Acrobat PDF (1.3MB) file to download here (1.3MB)

 

Countryside Voice magazine

 

Countryside Voice is CPRE National's thrice-yearly magazine. Through...

• news and updates on our campaigning work
• features by leading countryside and environment writers
• lively opinion pieces
• book reviews (with discounts for book purchases)
• letters from readers
• beautiful photographs

Countryside Voice keeps you informed of our work, the issues facing our countryside and how you can help us protect it.

 

Some highlights from the Spring 2012 issue :

• Helping Hedgerows - The campaigners who are preserving this priceless landscape asset.
• Connect with the Land. - Author and explorer Tristan Gooley explains how we can all learn to appreciate the extraordinary in our landscapes
• Spririt of Place - Author and Telegraph folk culture columnist Ian Vince celebrates some of his favourite English festivals - and asks whether they're still bringing communities together.
• Local Voice - News and Events from across the country.

 

Countryside Voice is just one of the benefits of CPRE membership. To have Countryside Voice delivered to your door, join us today.

 

Houses and Gardens

CPRE membership entitles you to discounted entry to over 200 of England's most splendid houses and gardens, either for half-price or two visitors for the price of one. Enjoy a day out at some of the finest castles, arboretums, museums, stately homes and gardens you can find in England's countryside and towns.

There are many opportunities to enjoy the beauty and history of houses and gardens. Full details are given in our Houses and Gardens brochure which you will receive on joining . The savings you make could cover the cost of your membership and you will be supporting our work to protect the countryside.

This year's Houses and Gardens brochure was generously sponsored by NFU Mutual.

 

Houses, Gardens and other attractions in Bedfordshire

Swiss Garden - www.shuttleworth.org
CPRE member offer : 2 tickets for the price of 1.

Leighton Buzzard Railway - www.buzzrail.co.uk
CPRE member offer : 2 tickets for the price of 1.

Download the 2012 guide  (PDF 2.7MB)  for a county directory of houses and gardens.

 

Fieldwork

 

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