Submitted sites (archive)
We launched the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan in February 2016 and the Call for Sites, which ran until April 2016, was one of the first steps. The Call for Sites was an opportunity for agents, landowners and developers to submit land which they believe could be developed to meet future demand for homes and jobs.
Why were the sites published?
We received 851 (46 for employment) submissions to our Call for Sites from both rounds (2014 and 2016). We have published the full list of sites that have been submitted with accompanying parish maps, so that everyone has the chance to see the sites that will be considered through the Local Plan process.
Site assessments
The submitted sites were assessed to see whether they are "suitable", "available" and "achievable".
A number of factors were considered including: how well sites are related to other settlements; the proximity of sites to services like schools, doctors, shops and public transport; accessibility from the existing road network; flood risk; and opportunities and constraints identified by internal experts from environment, heritage and archaeology teams for example.
Crucially, the sites that come through this process were not automatically allocated for housing in the Local Plan. The assessments were one of a number of technical evidence documents which determined the most sustainable locations for growth.