Bedford Borough Council has launched its Local Plan 2040 for the next and final stage of consultation.

The Local Plan 2040 sets out where new homes and jobs will be located in Bedford Borough up to 2040, in order to meet nationally determined growth targets.

It also plans for new services and infrastructure, including transport, schools and public open spaces to support sustainable communities.

The Local Plan 2040 focuses mainly on a strategy to guide housing and employment growth to meet the government’s targets, and the infrastructure needed to support it. The Council is legally obliged to plan for a set number of homes: 1,355 per year to 2040.

The Plan’s Strategy focuses new development first in the urban area, including suitable, previously developed ‘brownfield’ sites.

The Plan then focuses on growth at sites just outside the urban area that will help to deliver green infrastructure projects such as Bedford River Valley Park, and at new locations on the East West Rail / A421 corridor that benefit from good access to planned rail stations.

The Plan proposes two new settlements close to new rail stations on the proposed East West Rail line; at the former brickworks at Kempston Hardwick and at Little Barford to the east of the Borough, where the East West Rail line is planned to cross the East Coast Main Line.

This Plan also focuses on encouraging high-skilled employment opportunities alongside housing development, with up to 26,700 jobs planned at a number of sites across the borough.