Did you know that the 15th

January is National Pothole Day?

Report the potholes you spot

https://beta.cb-report-it.co.uk/

2

Leighton Linslade Low Carbon Town Talk at All Saints Church on Climate Change

Paul Brown spoke to a packed church about the disastrous climate change that is already happening, the dramatic bush fires in Australia following years of terrible drought, fires in California. Venice under wa-ter because of exceptional high tides and sea level rise. In the UK we have seen what are called 100-year floods but we are seeing the second 100-year flood in the last 12 years. Planned expansion of airport passenger numbers, be it a 3rd run-way at Heathrow or Luton Airport expansion, are we refusing to count aviation in British emissions totals? Did you know that price of electricity produced by solar power and wind power is now less than fossil fuels. We could produce enough electricity from off shore wind farms in the North Sea to provide electricity for the whole of Europe. Each wind turbines now produces 12 times as much power as it did only ten years ago. Similarly solar is 80% cheaper than it was 10 years. In the last five years battery technology has come on in leaps and bounds, prices have dropped 70%. Save energy, shop locally, eat less meat, re-use and re-cycle, try-ing to avoid flying. Cycle or walk and or take public transport ra-ther than drive. Sell your gas guzzling car, especially if it is diesel and get a smaller car, preferably a hybrid or electric. As individuals or as a community we can invest in renewable ener-gies solar or heat pumps. By making small choices like not buying products with excessive packaging or fish and timber from unsustainable sources you are creating political pressure. Another speaker was Dr Chris Brierley, Associate Professor in Cli-mate Change, University College, London who was our speaker a

3

cyear ago. He structured his talk around some of the things he’d done in the previous week, and how they related to climate change in the broad sense, to give a broad perspective. For exam-ple, he went to see the film The Aeronauts, a story about a balloon ascent in the 1860s, when we really didn’t know much about what the atmosphere was, to find out more about the weather. Showing how hard it was to get science information then, compared with today when he could sit in front of his computer. The average temperature between 1850 and 1900 is often used by the international community as a definition of the Preindustrial time, which is the baseline, against which many climate agree-ments are measured. For example, the Paris climate agreement that was signed in 2015 was aiming to limit warming to 1.5°, and at most 2°, above that preindustrial baseline. He remarked that he probably has another thirty years left in his career, and at some point while he is still lecturing, he will have to explain to his students the historical perspective of why we didn’t act fast enough, and why we bequeathed to them the changes that are going to come, and the changes that have come. Did you know that you can calculate your Carbon Footprint? https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/ All Saints Church does have a plan to lower its Carbon Footprint, solar could be installed on the roof of the Grade 1 Listed building. They have considered ground source pumps for heating, to pre-serve the wooden roof, the air temperature in the church needs to be kept constant, at present it is not a available option due to cost. There are plans though to make the building zero carbon. After a member of CBC staff spoke the meeting broke into smaller groups. Thank you to Paul and Chris for making their notes available. Sue James Next meeting is on the 1st February on Nature and Climate

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Chairman’s Message

I hope you all had a splendid Christmas, which now seems a long while ago.

What has been in the news lately? Just before Christmas Leighton Buzzard hit the news headlines.

Because of the continuous rain throughout the Autumn it was a case of water everywhere but not a drop to drink. A faulty valve and an air lock meant that some residents, especially in Linslade did not have a water supply for whole weekend. We all saw those imag-es in the media of residents queueing for water in Tescos car park. Two thoughts come to mind. One thought is how fortunate we are to have running water by turning on a tap. For many people global-ly it is a long walk to a well. The other thought is the resilience of the water supply infrastructure in Leighton Buzzard, especially with all the massive development that is happening in the town. What we do know there is not any back up if the water fails again in Leighton Buzzard. It also makes you wonder in what state our gas and electricity supply is in. As we all know power cuts are a familiar occurrence in our town.

Did many members watch “Worzel Gummidge” on television over Christmas? This delightful programme was shot from near the Ivinghoe Beacon car park on the Ashridge estate. Seeing the pro-gramme you realise what a beautiful area we are fortunate to live in. In the programme were lovely landscape images towards Dun-stable Downs. How long will it be before those wonderful views will be marred by development. There is already another threat beyond the horizon of the Downs and that is the second terminal at Luton Airport. London Luton Airport Ltd want to increase passenger num-bers from 18 million passengers to 32 million in about 2038, which of course means many more aircraft in the sky; as well as taking more land to build the terminal. This includes the loss of Wigmore Valley Park. As Luton airport has recently again been voted the worst airport on mainland Britain maybe LLA should consider im-proving passenger facilities in the current airport before thinking about a second terminal.

There are some good ideas in the proposals such as the Dart airport transport system from Luton Parkway station to the airport, which is currently being constructed and the construction of a fuel pipe-line, which will reduce the amount of tankers on the local roads. But in the current environmental crisis should we be thinking about growth in aircraft traffic and the resulting pollution.

5

As of yet I have not ventured to the new retail park in Grovebury Road, but from what I have heard the car park provision is too small and is causing problems, especially with the new Aldi there. I do wonder how the retail park is affecting trade in the High Street. When I go into town it does appear quieter. At least, though, we do have two Aldis.

Last year at the at our monthly meetings the attendance was very low, despite having some very good speakers. Please do come along to the LB Society meetings in 2020, as again there is a good programme starting with Gill King talking about recycling on Thursday January 23rd at the Gables.

I would like to wish all LB Society members a very happy new year.

Mike Shephard

Have Your Say

As more and more homes are built on the eastern side of the

town, lets make them low carbon.

This consultation sets out our plans for the Future Homes Stand-ard, including proposed options to increase the energy efficiency requirements for new homes in 2020. The Future Homes Stand-ard will require new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency; it will be introduced by 2025.

It is the first stage of a two-part consultation about proposed

changes to the Building Regulations. Covering the wider impacts

of Part L for new homes, including changes to Part F (ventilation).

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-

future-homes-standard-changes-to-part-l-and-part-f-of-

the-building-regulations-for-new-dwellings

Closing date is the 7th February

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October Meeting

You think catching a criminal is difficult, having the Police and Crime Com-missioner at a Society’s meeting is equally challenging. Our 3rd attempt to welcome Kathryn Holloway, failed. The first substitute speaker offered was Clare Kelly, Chief of Staff who spoke earlier in the year, a week before the meeting an email out of the ‘blue’ of-fering Phil McCarthy, he described himself as a Super Sub coming off of the bench for the team! He informed us that he was an Ex-Detective Inspector with Bedfordshire Police and his roles within the force ranged from a Firearms officer, Police trainer in Specialist skills (public order and Self-defence) Staff Officer to the force executive and then managing the Force’s Intelligence unit until he re-tired in October 2017.He has have been with the OPCC for a year as their project manager on Police projects. Phil informed us that both Kathryn and Clare send their apologies, although he did drop Kathryn in by saying she was on annual leave then when I left the office Kathryn said, he stopped himself short at that point. Phil was born in Luton and has been a Bedfordshire Officer for all his work-ing life. He informed us that Bedfordshire is 5th in the UK for terrorism, gun and knife crime but the funding is for a rural force. There are only two divisions, Northern Bedford and Southern Luton with Dunstable Station being run as a training centre now. A question raised was ‘Is Kathryn standing for PCC next year?’ This will not be known until February/March next year is when the candi-dates for PCC will be announced. He spoke about ATM thefts, the pattern, the policing, the travellers. Phil explained that they are just scratching the surface of paedophiles. find one computer and discover another 150 paedophiles. Rural crime team, work in the rural area only, they don't go into the towns. The promised new police officers involve 3 months vetting, 31 weeks train-ing. So the new officers being trained today with the extra funding secured will appear in 2020.

Sue James

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President’s Evening

Being in Purdah made our Presidents' Evening this year different, the reason being that our Pres-ident and MP was very limited in the subjects he could speak on.

Firstly our chairman welcomed the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Farzana Kharawala to speak. Councillor Kharawala spoke with passion about the town and why she stood as a councillor. She sits on the following committees -Community Safety, Grounds & Environmental, Partnership and Plan-ning & Transport.

Next to speak was our President who informed us he had 9 differ-ent topics, one being the police which following our talk from Phil McCarthy the previous month we were already well informed on. We are promised by the end of 2021 374 new police officers. He spoke of the draw of officers into Luton and our officers being loss. Andrew is planning to explore the option of Luton Council using the significant funding it receives from Luton Airport to contribute towards policing in the county. So watch this space!

Health—Leighton Road Surgery good news is ELFT (East London Foundation Trust) will be moving into a management position in running the surgery. Announcements to follow on this.

Expansion promised at L&D Hospital with more operating theatres. (I had already asked Andrew during the meal that if he was re-elected and stayed on the Health Select Committee that hospitals like the L&D intro-duced to the maps sent out to the patients and visitors a scale, so you know if the walk from car park A to clinic is 2, 3, or 4 minutes for example. These distances are important for the elderly, disabled as sitting is rare in corridors and pacing is often important).

Traveling around the town, congestion and maybe looking at some of the crossing. Buses, D1 can we replicate this with our new estates?

Cycle routes, developing the Green Wheel, safe cycling routes from estates to the schools, so people are not driving a mile or so across town.

Railway, Andrew commutes regularly on the West Coast Line and he spoke about how bad it has been lately in the evenings. A billion pounds are being invested over the next 5 years with the plan to increase capacity by 25% with new trains.

He spoke about the need to find accommodation of voluntary groups in the town, he had visited a mental health group recently.

8

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Andrew spoke about ground heat source heating, new homes will not have gas boilers from 2025. He spoke enthusiastically about zero carbon homes.

The local economy is strong, close to full employment, Luton Airport is planning to expand bringing in new jobs , 18000 in Central Beds but he realises that the Society is a member of PAIN. By 2027 Easy Jet has prom-ised short flights will be electric.

Andrew then took questions from the floor. For the next 20 minutes.

9

Why you should live in Leighton-Linslade

If we ignore the fact that one water pipe appears to supply the

whole town and beyond with water, the local housing developers

informs us in their glossy brochure -

An eclectic mix of independent stores and boutiques, coffee shops,

restaurants, pubs and bars adorn the streets of the historical Bed-

fordshire market town.

Despite its rural setting, Leighton Buzzard is just a 35-minute train journey from London Euston station and even closer to Milton Keynes

High Street names and supermarkets

Open air market and farmers market

Gyms, leisure centre with pool

Close to Grand Union canal for leisurely walk

From an online advert for houses on the new Clipstone Brook de-

velopment by one of the developer's.

Looking at a different developer, there is the promise of

• Junction 11a on M1 only a 15 minute drive away

• New schools and community facilities coming soon

• Reach London within 32 minutes by train

• Leighton Buzzard town centre just a 4 minute drive

• Parkland on your doorstep for you to explore

• A doctors surgery

located close to the historic market town of Leighton Buzzard you

will find Leighton Buzzard town centre with a range of special-

ist shops, restaurants and supermarkets for your everyday needs

10

Open green spaces on your doorstep as well as local amenities

and transport links to London within 32 minutes.

There will be new schools, sports pitches, community centres,

open space and new parks, making this a great family destina-

tion to enjoy both a town and country lifestyle.

So it is interesting the slight difference in time to travel from the

railway station in Linslade to Euston, no mention of the parking

costs, drive to station, direct bus service there one day.

Emphasis on close to MK, junction 11A of the M1, not encourag-

ing public transport, the promise of cycle routes, no mention of

the Green Wheel.

Gas boilers installed, no heat source pumps (There is a develop-

ment I visited over 3 years ago in Newcastle Upon Tyne, all

houses had solar for heating and water).

Sue James

Future Luton? What's all this about?

Or rather Future LuToN, Making best use of our runway, as the

Statutory Consultation Guide to a proposed expansion of London Luton

Airport styles itself.

News of this latest stage in the seemingly relentless continuing expansion

of what we used to know as Luton Airport reached most of us in a most

haphazard manner. Before I go any further I should explain that the rea-

soning behind this latest expansion, styled Future LuToN, is that, accord-

ing to what we are told, the need to cater for an increase in passenger

throughput from 19 million passengers per annum (mppa) in 2021 to 32

mppa in 2035 & beyond to 2039 but without building an extra runway.

The capacity as defined by the planning consent given in 2014 for the

expansion project that is currently ongoing (Project Curium) is 18 mppa.

You have to delve into the Statutory Consultation Guide to discover that

there will be an entirely separate planning project by LLAOL (London Lu-

ton Airport Operations Limited: the airport manager & operator) to make

alterations to the existing terminal building to increase its capacity from

18 mppa to 19 mppa by 2021. This will be determined by Luton Borough

Council as the planning authority. The Future LuToN proposal is all about

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creating a second terminal building, its supporting infrastructure, addi-

tional taxiways & aprons for aircraft & increased public transport links.

These include more trains, buses, coaches & facilities for cars & taxis to

serve the new terminal. Outwith the airport itself there will be improve-

ments in the highway system leading to the airport & extra parking serv-

ing the combined Luton Airport Parkway railway station & adjacent DART

terminal station. In case you may not be familiar with DART, this is the

new direct access rapid transit system which connects the railway station

to the airport. It will replace the existing shuttle bus, is under construc-

tion & due to open in 2021. It will be extended to the second terminal as

a key part of this proposed expansion. Because the Future LuToN pro-

posal seeks a significant increase in the permitted capacity of the airport

from 19 to 32 mppa it is deemed to be a Nationally Significant Infrastruc-

ture Project that has to be considered & in due course sanctioned by The

Secretary of State for Transport. The Government back in 2018 were in

favourably disposed towards UK aviation growth, making clear its support

for a third runway at Heathrow & supporting all other airports in making

best use of their existing runways as long as the environmental impact

was managed. No word as yet from the present government that this idea

of aviation support has changed. Hence we have Future LuToN, Making

best use of our runway.

If by chance you just happened to read the Leighton Buzzard Observer of

15 October 2019,on pages 36/37 you would have found a Public Notice

issued by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL: the legal entity that owns but

does not operate the airport; LLAL is in turn wholly owned by Luton Bor-

ough Council) It read as follows:

42, 47 & 48 of The Planning Act 2008 & Regulation 4, Infrastructure Plan-

ning Regulations 2009. “ NOTICE OF The notice was a legal document

issued in accordance with Sections PUBLICATION OF A STATEMENT OF

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND NOTICE PUBLICISING A PROPOSED

APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER FOR LONDON LU-

TON AIRPORT.”

Dated 8 October 2019, it went on to give a summary of the proposed ex-

pansion to the airport, referenced the website: futureluton.llal.org.uk

that included the proposals & supporting documents, explained that the

Statutory Consultation period would run from 16 October 2019 to 16 De-

cember 2019, listed where to find the details of all the supporting docu-

ments on public display in council offices & public libraries & finally listed

a series of consultation events & venues to be held during the consulta-

tion period.

Inexplicably conspicuous by its absence from these venues was Leighton

12

Buzzard.

If you hadn’t read the LBO exhaustively you’d have been no wiser as to

what was going on.

On behalf of the Leighton Buzzard Society & through our membership of

PAIN, I protested to Neil Thompson, the Operations Director of LLAOL,

about this omission. Our Town Clerk, Mark Saccicio, also complained vig-

orously. The result was that the documentation was immediately placed

in our public library & a mailing notice sent to all Leighton Buzzard house-

holds advising of a consultation event arranged for 22 November between

16:00 & 20:00 at the Leighton Buzzard Football Club in Lake Street.

This was well attended. Copies of the 166 page Guide to Statutory Con-

sultation & the 22 page Feedback Form & Freepost envelope were availa-

ble to take away. Comments could be returned either by using the form/

freepost or by email or via the website llal.org.uk

As you can imagine, PAIN extensively discussed the proposed expansion.

I completed the on-line version of the feedback document. The following

are my thoughts.

The airport is currently in breach of the planning conditions that were a

feature of the 2014 planning consent for expansion. These relate to night

times noise contour. A new planning application to LBC has been made

for a temporary relaxation until 2024. After that the current noise contour

will be re-imposed. All this pre-supposes that the newer generation of air-

craft will be quieter & more efficient. There is some scepticism that these

aircraft will offer a marked reduction in the noise impact of the airport.

Under normal circumstances the immediate Leighton Buzzard area is not

overflown by flights to & from the airport. It is in the Aylesbury Vale area

where aircraft noise from flights to from the airport is experienced the

most. Inevitably if the expansion proceeds as planned there will be more

flights & noise. The one salutary feature of the proposed expansion is that

LLAL state that they will maintain the current annual restrictions on

LLAOL of 9,650 aircraft movements during the night quota period

(11:30pm to 6:00am) to limit night-time aircraft noise.

Overall current UK ATM’s (air traffic movements) are below what they

were in 2007. LTN’s growth since that time is contrary to that trend & is a

result of growth in budget airlines which are attracted by landing fees

that are lower than elsewhere. This abstracts business from other London

& regional airports. It has resulted in the business model for LLAL’ future

being heavily dependent on the financial stability of these budget airlines

viz Easyjet, Wizzair & to a lesser extent Ryanair, representing 70% of the

airport’s current business. Is it right for Luton Borough Council & its rate-

13

payers to be funding this expansion given that failure of one of these

budget airlines could reverse the growth in ATM that LTN has enjoyed?

What effect will BREXIT have on budget air travel to Europe?

The counter argument is that the expansion is phased in tranches with

break points at the end of 2016 providing a capacity of 21.5 million pas-

sengers, & at the end of 2030 with a capacity of 25 million passengers. If

the project is completed in 2039, capacity will be 32 million passengers.

LLAL can halt or delay the phases in the light of experience.

Given the consternation there is both globally & within the UK & Europe

about climate change, carbon reduction & the fact that air travel is one of

the largest contributors to carbon emissions, is it right that LLAL should be

embarking on an expansion of this magnitude?

I suspect that many of those who took the trouble to participate in this

consultation will have queried the need for an expansion on the scale that

is proposed.

LLAL in their quest to improve take up of public transport by passengers &

staff cite the already improved frequency of rail services at Luton Airport

Parkway station provided by Thameslink & the new East Midlands fran-

chise holder, Abellio, with more improved rail services to follow later this

year. The other public transport element, that of buses & coaches, has not

had a similar improvement in frequency & increased network coverage

that I’m aware of. 24/7 direct coach services for London exist & to some

extent for the Midlands. Local bus services extending from the airport

need to be improved to facilitate increased usage. These measures need

to be introduced now, irrespective of the outcome of the planning deliber-

ations for the proposed expansion.

The same case can be made for early introduction of the road & junction

improvements, which are shown as being a Phase 2-Enabling 25 mppa

capacity requirement.

When the DART link between Luton Airport Parkway station & the existing

terminal opens in 2021 the Mid Term car park at the airport will be re-

duced in capacity from 2350 to 1700. In Phase 1-Interim capacity of the

expansion two new car parks A & C (shown on page 89 of the Guide to

Statutory Consultation) are proposed for passenger & staff parking rea-

sonably close to the DART terminal at Luton Airport Parkway station. I

think it essential that these are brought into use in advance of the DART

opening, irrespective of the outcome of the planning deliberations for the

proposed expansion or indeed the LLAOL managed project to increase the

existing terminal capacity from 18 mppa to 19 mppa by 2021.

14

EastWest Rail

Early in the New Year we can expect the outcome of the public in-

quiry into EastWest Rail’s Western Section, alongside the route

announcement for the section between Bedford and Cambridge.

I haven’t any comments on the other aspects of the proposed expansion;

these are more a matter for the Luton residents affected by the increased

land take that the airport will require for the expansion.

In case like me, you are wondering what happens next, you have to wade

through almost the entire Guide to Statutory Consultation to find out;

you get the answers on pages 158 & 159. I’ve given the gist of them be-

low & amplified the process that the Development Consent Order follows

in government.

In late 2019 all comments received during consultation should have been

considered & used to further development of the design for the proposed

expansion. Also the Environmental Impact Assessment Report should

have been finalised.

2020 is taken up with preparing the final version of the proposed expan-

sion & submitting it as a Development Consent Order application to the

Planning Inspectorate. There then follows a period of examination by the

Planning Inspectorate with public hearings if necessary, lasting up to six

months.

In 2021 the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the

Secretary of State for Transport. This has to be done within three months

of the close of the examination stage.

In 2021 the Secretary of State has three months to make the decision

whether to grant or refuse development consent. Once issued there is a

six week period during which the decision may be challenged in the High

Court. This process is known as Judicial Review.

I hope you find this helpful.

John Sharp

15

CURRENT PLANNING APPLICATIONS 18/04462/AOP Chelmscote Manor Farm Leighton Road (a4146) Soulbury, LU7 0BP Consultation Outline planning application, for the erection of 7 new dwelling houses with associated works 19/00857/APP Three Locks Pump-house Leighton Road Three Locks Soulbury, MK17 9DD Approved Change of use of from Canal & River Trust operational building to a mixed use including retained Canal & River Trust operational use, class B1 (a) offices, class B1 (b) research & development or B1 (c) light industrial, B2 general industrial or A3 cafe CB/17/05681/OUT Land at Station Approach, Station Road, LU7 2LY

Consultation

Approximately 25 Dwellings, up to three storeys in height with basement

car parking

CB/17/05971/OUT Land at Northern Chamberlains Barn (to the south of

Shenley Hill Rd), Consultation

Residential development of up to 253 dwellings

CB/17/06062/FULL Land at Northern Chamberlain's Barn (between Shen-

ley Hill Rd and Heath Rd) L B Consultation

Creation of new link road

CB/18/00943/FULL Land to the rear of no's. 11B - 29 Wing Road,

Linslade Consultation

Proposed residential scheme of 34 x 1 and 2 bedroom apartments

CB/18/02615/RM Clipstone Park Land South of Vandyke Road and North

of Stanbridge Road Consultation

Application for Approval of Reserved Matters - pursuant to the outline ap-

plication

CB/11/02827/OUT dated 28/08/2015 for the Strategic Landscape, open

spaces and play areas CB/18/03683/FULL Land between Shenley Hill

Road and the Heath Road to Vandyke Road Link Road Consultation

Link road between Shenley Hill Road and the 'Heath Road to Vandyke

Road Link Road' and closure of Shenley Hill Road at its junction with

Vandyke Road and Clipstone Lane

CB/18/04796/FULL The Brambles, Vandyke Road, Leighton Buzzard, LU7

16

3DY Refused

Residential development of 61 dwellings, 38 flats and 23 houses, new

access onto Vandyke Road, car parking, amenity space, landscaping

and associated works

CB/19/00281/FULL Double Arches Farm, Eastern Way, Heath And

Reach, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 9LF Granted

Revisions (partly retrospective) to approved application

CB/16/00232/FULL. Demolition of existing buildings/structures; removal

of containers and erection of replacement commercial units and associ-

ated works; Provision of a caravan site to include the previously ap-

proved 11 Travelling Show-people pitches (authorised by CB/16/00232/

FULL) and the existing 10 caravans for residential occupation

(authorised by CB/17/04648/LDCE) CB/19/00718/FULL & 719/LB 6-8

North Street, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1EN Consultation

Conversion from B1 (offices) to C3 (3 flats)

CB/19/01241/FULL 7-9 Church Square, LU7 7AE Consultation

Demolition of sorting offices to rear of retained Post Office building and

redevelopment of site to provide two three-storey buildings providing

18 residential units, 686sqm of flexible Use Class (A1, A3, B1, D2) com-

mercial floorspace at ground floor and associated cycle parking, land-

scaping and access Planning Statement pp22 Allow for the provision of

a high quality public realm incorporating car parking for both the exist-

ing Post Office uses, and the proposed residential occupant

CB/19/01434/FULL 32 Hockliffe Street, LU7 1HJ Granted

Erection of single and two storey rear extension and conversion into 4

apartments with associated parking

CB/19/01406/RM Land South of former Model Farm and West of Hill

Farm Eggington Granted

Following outline approval on planning application

CB/11/02827/OUT. The reserved matters submission is for the approv-

al of access, appearance, layout, landscaping & scale on 201 dwellings,

associated highways and ancillary works

CB/19/01567/FULL Land at Old Linslade Road,LU7 0DU Consultation

Proposed: Demolition of Existing Building and Erection of a Dwelling and

Access Track

use of former job centre (A2 use class) to dental practice (D1 use class)

17

CB/19/01935/FULL 201-203 Vandyke Road, LU7 3HS Granted

Conversion of nursery back to 2 No. Single Family 3 bedroom dwellings,

will be used as rented accommodation by CBC

CB/19/01950/FULL Land Adj. 26 Woodman Close, LU7 3NU Withdrawn

Erection of detached bungalow

CB/19/01970/FULL 13 Nelson Road, LU7 3EE Granted

End terrace to be extended and then divide the property into 2 creating

a 3 bedroom mid and 4 bed end terrace

CB/19/01982/FULL Sutherlands School, Stoke Road, LU7 2SR Granted

Minor Dwellings1-9 /area less than 0.5ha

CB/19/02116/FULL Castle Commerce, Old Road, LU7 2RG Consultation

Demolition of two commercial units and the erection of 9 flats

CB/19/02352/FULL The Rushmere Park Academy, East Street, LU7 1EW

GrantedI

nstallation of permeable Ecogrid E40 (grass-crete) to form car parking

area, was St Georges school

CB/19/02390/FULL 77 Cotefield Drive, LU7 3DN Granted

Construction of 2-bed bungalow to rear of property

CB/19/02477/LB 40 Stoke Road, Linslade, LU7 2SP Granted

Listed building: Conversion of garage to study incorporating new window to front elevation and formation of porch under existing canopy, minor internal alterations.

Tony Birch

Planning Officer

Did you know that an electronic copy of the newsletter is availa-

ble 2 weeks before the hard copy is even printed let alone dis-

tributed?

If you would like to receive an electronic copy please email

societylb2@gmail.com

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Update from LB First

There are a few things I'd like to update members on and bring to everyone's attention. Firstly, we are still awaiting C.B.C. to officially announce what is happening with the planning application regard-ing the building of flats behind the main post office in Church Square. We had heard that it was looking like the planning officers were going to recommend rejecting the Mayfair 500 proposal of building a mix of 1/2 bed flats, 21 in total with 18 parking spaces and a ground floor gym not to mention the access. If it gets re-ferred back to the Development (Planning) Committee, we will let everyone know so as we can arrange transport to take people there. Alternatively, the planning officers may simply announce the outcome, but we will keep a close eye on things. There is the town council's Policy and Finance committee meeting on Monday 20th January 7.30pm at the White House where amongst other things the budget for the coming year will be dis-cussed along with the land South of the High Street, full agenda and papers will be on the town council website. This is a public meeting and questions can be asked at the beginning of the meet-ing based on an agenda item and 3mins are allowed per question. The drop-in session for members of the public to talk to senior C.B.C. officers from the regeneration department about proposals for developing the South Side of the High Street is now scheduled for the middle of February, date to be confirmed. Lastly there will be a public meeting organised by the town council and Anglian Water on Tuesday 28th January 7.30pm at the library theatre where questions will be answered by Anglian Water about the interruption to the water supply that affected our town before Christmas. Apart from everyone else it had a huge detrimental im-pact on local businesses on what is normally one of the busiest weekends of the year after having suffered from the horrendous traffic grid lock on the Tuesday and Thursday of that week due to temporary traffic lights and on top of that a drop of footfall with the opening of the Grovebury Road retail park earlier in the year. For more information you can contact me on 01525 854273 Gennaro Borrelli

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Central Bedfordshire’s Green Belt

CB/19/00887/FULL

Construction of a new single and dual carriageway 2.75 miles (4.4km) road linking the M1 and the A6 between the M1 junction 11a and the A6 Barton Road. Comprising intermediate junctions, overbridges, underbridges, cycle paths, revisions to the Public Rights of Way network, drainage and landscaping. This road through the AONB that is linked according to CBC to the delivery of over 3000 homes north of Luton and a new rail Freight Interchange. The road will be funded by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) and developer contributions from the development north of Luton which will on-ly provide 2% affordable housing. It was first debated in Sep-tember 2019 and despite opposition from the Independent Cllrs including Linslade Cllr Victoria Harvey due to its unsustainabil-ity, being in the Green Belt etc, was granted permissions by the committee but there was a holding directive from the Highways Agency who were concerned at the impacts on junction 11 so CBC could not give full permission at that time. There was strong opposition from the Chilterns Conservation Board, the Willdife Trusts, Natural England, Harlington Parish Council. Chalton Parish Council, Sundon Parish Council, although Streatley Parish Council supported it There was a petition of 1,500 against the road and two other petitions as well the opposi-tion from the two Independent ward Cllrs for Toddington. The lo-cal green party have raised the issue that it will increase road transport emissions of CO2 by 5% by 2037 for Central Bedford-shire Council and this is after CBC’s road transport emissions have increased by 12% since 2010 unlike the national average which is a 2% increase. The business case does not allow for in-duced traffic (when a road attracts extra traffic due to increased ease of travel as has happened with many new roads) so it could be more. Luton Borough Council have strongly opposed it as they stated that the development could be delivered with sustainable transport not with the road. Much of the justification for the strategic business case is that it supports the Oxford Cambridge Corridor and all the economic de-velopment that will be coming with this. Since September, the Secretary of State for Housing, Local Gov-ernment and Communities could called in the decision for a public

20

Inquiry , as it is a significant infrastructure development and a development in the green belt, but he left it to Central Beds Council to decide. Since September the Inspector for the Local Plan has written to CBC raising serious concerns over the loca-tion of housing north of Luton as there are other sites that might be preferable and has questioned whether there is a need for the Rail Freight Interchange. As well as this there have been letters from Luton Borough Council suggesting that they might judicially review the decision which would be a significant expense to CBC.

At the meeting of 8th January, significant concerns over prematuri-ty in relation to the local plan, lack of affordable housing and lack of sustainability and the lack of tables explain the business case were raised by Cllr Harvey. Planning permission was granted with 6 in favour, 3 against and 2 abstentions. CLlr Silvia Collins, independent Cllr for Toddington in whose ward

the new road will be built says

This application is not in the public interest because it is commercially unsound, and it is commercially unsound because it is premature of understanding the outcome of Central Bedfordshire’s Local Plan. The fact that there are no legally binding agreements with developers means that, if the Council commit to delivering this road ahead of an adopted Local Plan, they will have seriously damaged their negotiating power in terms of en-suring the developers will refund the full cost of the road and will commit to delivering housing types that the com-munity actually need. It is commercial common sense that developers would only tie themselves to such commit-ments once they are certain that they can build in these allocations and they will not know that until there is agreement on the outcome of the Local Plan. The upshot is that this could cost the Council (and hence taxpayers) considerable sums that they will not be able to recoup from the developers and/or a serious impact on the num-ber of affordable homes built in the housing mix. This is in an area with a dire need for affordable and social hous-ing.”

Councillor Kevin Collins, Executive Member for Planning and Re-generation, said after a meeting of our Development Manage-ment Committee:

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We can now formally issue our decision following a previous resolution last September to approve the scheme

The Secretary of State chose to leave the decision for us, and Highways England has removed its objection, subject to condi-tions we are happy to comply with.

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/…/581/m1-a6_link_road

The Benefits promised by CBC are that it will ease congestion, and will relieve some current congestion in Luton and ease traf-fic through local village rat-runs, such as Lower Sundon, Upper Sundon and Streatley. It wil improve access to Houghton Regis, Leighton Linslade, Dunstable and Luton Airport, create jobs, and will make the area more attractive to businesses. In particular, it will provide opportunities for businesses in aero-space, engineering and logistics to be located near to the air-port, M1 road and Midland Mainline rail. There are also plans for a new sub-regional rail freight interchange at Sundon accessed from the future M1-A6 Link Road. This will help transfer goods to/from the M1 to the Midland Mainline and beyond. Shifting more freight from road to rail has the potential to help reduce emissions and meet other environmental targets. There are a further 1,000 jobs on the 40ha of employment land associated with the new interchange. The new road will be critical to sup-port the 4,000 new local homes on the northern edge of Luton.

Victoria Harvey

London Green Belt Representative

Visit https://londongreenbeltcouncil.org.uk/maps/ to discover

the areas of Green Belt under threat

For full details of the planning application visit

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/55/

transport_roads_and_parking/581/m1-a6_link_road/6

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Network Rail: Replacement Footbridge in Linslade & progress?

As we have been without the footbridge in Linslade for almost a year I

thought it was time that Network Rail were sent a reminder that we

were still waiting for news of what they were proposing in the way of a

suitable permanent replacement.

Paul Street, Senior Communications Manager from the Network Rail of-

fice in Manchester that are responsible for the West Coast Main Line had

written to Andrew Selous back in April 2019 stating that the design of a

replacement bridge was being looked into. He ended his letter saying we

will contact you again once our plans are developed. In the meantime,

do let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Hence, I wrote to Mr Street on 3 January. The text of my letter reads

thus:

New replacement footbridge over the WCML near Leighton Buz-

zard Station

I am writing on behalf of the Leighton Buzzard Society to enquire about

the status of the replacement for the footbridge that was removed last

May. You previously were in correspondence with our MP, Andrew

Selous, in April 2019.

The temporary diversionary route which is in place is not a wholly ac-

ceptable substitute.

The route of the right of way that the footbridge formed part of pre-

dates the coming of the London & Birmingham Railway & is still a valued

route today. We fully realise that the replacement bridge has to meet

modern standards of structural design, cater for persons with reduced

mobility & so will require in comparison to its predecessor additional

land.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

John Sharp

For & on behalf of the Leighton Buzzard Society

Deputy Chairman & Transport Officer

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I received the following rather intriguing email from Network Rail on Fri-

day 10 January:

The heading in my email inbox being: Incident 200110-000147

Was this some Network Rail incident such as a derailment or bridge

strike sent to me in error?

No, it wasn’t, read on!

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:46

Network Rail (comms_service@mailgb.custhelp.com) What on earth was the RAM Structures? That had me puzzled but only

for an instant!

It just so happens that as a somewhat seasoned rail enthusiast I receive

all manner of correspondence to do with our railways. Recently I’ve been

reading all about the Office of the Rail & Road Regulator (ORR). They are

the economic regulator for UK railway infrastructure which includes Net-

work Rail. Without wishing to bore you further I discover that Network

Rail now delineates its assets such as footbridges, stations, & the like as

REGULATORY ASSETS. Hence, I deduce RAM Structures to mean Regula-

tory Assets Maintained Structures like our now non-existent footbridge.

However, the subject is now clearly defined as:

New replacement footbridge over the WCML near Leighton Buz-

zard Station

So I can expect a report back with findings from the local contact &

communities team in due course. Interesting!

Now that I have all the Network Rail references like Incident: 200110-

000147, I’ll keep you posted.

John Sharp

Incident: 200110-000147

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Membership

Single = £10.00 Dual = £18.00

If you pay by standing order please ensure that the amount is correct for your January 2020 payment.

Please send cheques to Membership Secretary,

3 Cetus Crescent, LU7 3NL

2020 Programme

January 23rd Gill King, Waste and Recycling

February 20th

Ron Dudley Smith, Dowsing/Rollright Stones

March 26th Roger Mason, Great Train Robbery

April 23rd

AGM

May 28th

Mark Saccoccio, Town Clerk

All meetings to be held at The Gables, 132 Wing Road, LU7 2NN

7 for 7.30pm start

Non members are welcome, entry £2 unless otherwise stated

The Gables is on the 150 bus route on Wing Road, a short walk

from the Railway Station, where the F70, F77 and D1 buses stop.

The Gables has a large car park with lighting and disabled access