Dear Supporters,
It is now just a few days to go till the deadline for response for the Hollands Farm Draft Development Brief consultation. This closes at 5pm on the 17th February!! Please just give a small amount of time (in the grand scale of things) to let your voice be heard, everyone needs to respond to help shape this plan.
This email contains all the information you need in order to respond.
What is the Draft Development Brief? How do I respond?
The proposal of building 467 houses on Hollands Farm in Bourne End has been in the pipeline for almost 5 years now, first proposed in the WDC Draft Local Plan in 2016 and adopted in 2019 (despite KBEG’s best efforts to stop this happening for many many valid reasons). We are now at a point where the draft development brief has been put together which will shape the proposals for this site. The DDB can be found through this link: https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/hollands-farm-consultation/supporting_documents/Hollands%20Farm%20Development%20Brief%20%20Issue%209%20Dec%202020%20Consultation%20Draft%20for%20comment.pdf
You can respond to this in the following ways:
– Complete the online survey through this link: https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/hollands-farm-consultation/
– Email: planningpolicyteam.bc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
– Write to: Hollands Farm Development Brief Consultation, Planning Policy Team, Wycombe Area Office, Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP11 1BB (if writing at this stage please keep the deadline of the 17th February in mind, this will apply to postal responses too).
For what reasons might I be concerned about this Development?
– Massive impact on traffic transport and roads.
– Services and Infrastructure that can’t cope.
– A density of housing completely out of context for the area.
– A destruction of green space, ecology, wildlife and environment.
KBEG have held 2 online zoom meetings for the public covering the causes for concern with the DDB. If you have missed these, we have loaded up a recording to our youtube channel which can be found here https://youtu.be/Q0CWZOk5_L4.
We strongly encourage EVERYONE to watch this, it may be lengthy but the points raised are of great concern and it would benefit people to understand what they are.
If you have not got the time or opportunity to watch the meeting, below are just some points which you may find resonate with yourself. We encourage you to just focus on the 2 or 3 matters which concern you the most and write in regarding those. These must be relevant to the site and the Development brief to be taken into consideration. This is not just a localised matter, it will affect the whole area and all surrounding villages. ANYONE with concerns MUST write in and voice them. ANYONE CAN write in (you don’t have to be living next to the development site). Please DO NOT copy and paste the below. Your submission must be in your own words to be given credit.
(Please note, this consultation is not to argue about whether this development should even happen, unfortunately that ship has sailed. The comments which will hopefully be taken into account with the council are the productive ones about shaping the brief rather than just objecting blindly to the whole concept.)
Landscape Character and placemaking
– There must be a substantial acceptable buffer zone between ALL existing residential areas and properties and the new development. This includes Hawks Hill (all properties), the entirety of Hedsor Road and Conservation area, Bridgestone Drive/Hellier Way.
– Green Space must be a priority, especially as there is an acknowledged current deficiency in Bourne End and Wooburn.
– The site must have zero net impact on biodiversity (not just offset against Little Marlow Country Park)
– Green Spaces and Buffer zones must be allocated with long term funding or ongoing maintenance agreed with the Parish Council and must be given protection from future development.
Transport
– There needs to be a comprehensive transport study done on the site BEFORE the plans are finalised. All issues including the new roads, access, pinch points must have solutions in place that will be acceptable for additional traffic the site will produce.
– Many suggested existing access points are unsafe for large vehicles to pass (e.g Princes Road, Hedsor Road)
Housing numbers and Density
– Bourne End and Wooburn were allocated 800 homes in the Local plan. Due to other builds and/or planning now in place (not even counting the conversion of office to residential), building 467 homes on Hollands Farm would by far exceed these numbers. It is acknowledged that over 800 extra homes in Bourne End and Wooburn would not be sustainable. Therefore the housing numbers on the site need to be halved. There are only about 250 homes now required to hit the 800 target so continuing with the original figure of 467 would push the number of new homes in BE&W over 1000 which is completely unsustainable.
– Not in keeping with Bourne End at all for the quantity per Ha (DDB proposes an average of 32 which would likely translate to 40 in high density areas).
Planning Applications
– Any planning application Must be made in full rather than an outline so that it deals with all infrastructure and sustainability issues
Who are Catesby and why did I get a flyer from them this week about a consultation? Can I just reply to that one?
Catesby are one of the promoters for the site and NO you should not think that responding to their consultation means you don’t have to respond to the Councils consultation. It is crucial you respond to the Councils consultation first whilst you can. In fact the Council released this statement after Catesby sent this out stating they were disappointed it had been sent out and was not in agreement with themselves.
Thank you for speaking up and having your say in helping make this development brief more acceptable.
Best regards
The KBEG Team
Diary Dates
House Numbers Map
Neighbourhood Watch site
