Update on the new Local Plan for our area
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Over the past 12 months, we've been engaging with residents to help shape the new Local Plan. We'd like to give you an update on where we are up to with that.
We're in the process of developing a new Local Plan. But what is a Local Plan? A Local Plan sets out how Central Bedfordshire will develop over the next 20 years, making sure new developments are:
- in the right place
- of the right character
- of high quality
It also seeks to ensure that growth will include:
- roads
- schools
- services (such as health)
- retail, leisure and community facilities
Over the past 12 months, we've been engaging with residents, town and parish councils, ward councillors and others to help shape the new Local Plan.
Through the workshops and the public surveys, we received a significant amount of valuable feedback that we are now taking into consideration as we prepare for our first formal stage of engagement (called Regulation 18, or Issues and Options) which will take place in early 2026.
We've prepared reports to summarise the main themes that were raised through the survey and engagement workshops.
Call for sites
We recently ran a Call for Sites exercise. This is where we seek to identify plots of land which meet needs for the new plan. This can include land for new homes and jobs, renewable energy and green spaces – including Biodiversity Net Gain which is a requirement for development to increase wildlife and habitats on a site.
We received 626 submissions, which have now been published. As a result of an initial assessment, 174 sites have been discounted for the delivery of new homes. This initial assessment looked at whether sites could deliver at least 10 homes and whether there were any land ownership or legal issues that would stop a site being developed (for example where land has been submitted without the permission of the landowner). Sites were also discounted where they were not well connected to an existing settlement (not directly next to the edge of a settlement and not big enough to standalone and provide their own infrastructure, such as schools)). These sites may still be re-assessed for other uses or re-considered alongside other sites in the future.
The remaining sites will need to go through a rigorous assessment process to determine whether they could be considered for future development. We have not yet completed the full assessment that is required to understand whether any of these sites are suitable.
Councillor Adam Zerny, Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, said:
For me, it's vital that residents get a real opportunity to have their say. We all know new housing will be built, but we must send a clear message to the government that we will only accept the right homes in the right place and with the right infrastructure. I won't be able to support a Local Plan that doesn't do this. The council has been consulting with residents, and we recognise the need to provide new homes and jobs for the next generation, so younger people have the chance to buy their first homes near family and friends, and for people downsizing to stay close to their roots. We will also need the infrastructure and facilities to support that growth.
Landowners have put forward 626 sites through our Call for Sites but for the moment, these should only be considered suggestions. 174 have already been discounted. Officers will now be analysing each site and looking closely to either include or exclude them as part of plan proposals going forward. In the next few years there will be further public consultations and residents will rightly get the chance to say whether they agree with the shortlist of sites the Council eventually proposes.