Hallam Land is preparing plans for up to 570 homes north of Clapham, and the council has ruled a full environmental study is needed. A petition has 707 names.

A developer is preparing plans for up to 570 homes on farmland on the northern edge of Clapham, about two miles north of Bedford town centre. No planning application has been lodged yet. A petition calling for the scheme’s full impact to be assessed has passed 700 signatures.

The developer is Hallam Land, with the consultants Carter Jonas acting as its agent. Its proposals are on the council’s planning portal as two early-stage requests about the environmental assessment the scheme will need.

What is proposed

The site is described as land north of Clapham, between Highbury Grove and The Baulk and Green Lane. The developer’s scoping request, reference 26/01669/EIASCP, describes:

  • up to 570 homes, including affordable housing
  • public open space and a new village green
  • landscaping, parking and associated infrastructure
  • the partial demolition, retention and conversion of existing farm barns for homes or businesses
  • vehicle access to the site

The portal does not say where the access would be.

Where it has got to

The council has already made one ruling. In June, Hallam Land asked whether the scheme would need a full Environmental Impact Assessment. On 6 July, officers decided that it would. The screening decision, 26/01131/EIASCR, is recorded as “EIA Required”.

That means any planning application must come with an Environmental Statement. It has to set out the scheme’s likely effects, on matters such as traffic, drainage and landscape, and how they would be reduced.

The developer then asked the council, on 27 August, what that statement should cover. The portal shows a decision issued on 8 October, recorded as “SOS Referral for EIASCP and EIASCR”, with the decision level given as the Secretary of State. The documents behind both requests cannot be viewed on the public portal, so we cannot say what the referral involved.

A search of the portal on 27 October found no outline planning application for the site.

The petition

A petition titled Support Clapham’s Voice on the 570 Home Development was started on 26 September and is addressed to Bedford Borough Council. On 27 October it had 707 verified signatures, against a target of 1,000.

It asks the council to assess:

  • the combined effect of this scheme and the 500 homes already planned off Milton Road
  • traffic, including the use of Highbury Grove as a secondary route and congestion at the Sainsbury’s roundabout
  • the effect on the village’s rural character and landscape
  • biodiversity and drainage
  • extra demand on schools, healthcare, public transport and recreation

The Milton Road scheme is separate. At the Planning Committee on 28 September, the Head of Planning said officers were “very close” to issuing the permission for those 500 homes, five years after the application was made. We reported that meeting here.

What it means for you

There is nothing to comment on yet. When Hallam Land lodges an application, the council will consult for 28 days, and the Environmental Statement will be published with it.

The rules for who decides it changed this month. From 31 October, a scheme of this size can go to the Planning Committee only if the Chair of the committee and the Head of Planning agree it raises an issue of significance. Ward councillors can no longer call it in, and the number of objections no longer triggers a hearing. Our report on the new rules explains what objectors will need to show.

Where new homes go in the borough up to 2050 is being decided now, through the Local Plan 2050. Its consultation on priorities closes on 23 November. Here is how to take part.