LL4: Land south of the high street
Policy Intent:
This policy seeks to set out how to deliver the aspirations of the local community, the landowners and key stakeholders in delivering a viable, fit for purpose mixed use scheme on this site. The spatial report carried out by independent consultants at AECOM provides a development framework for the area of an appropriate scale which efficiently uses the land, providing a mix of uses, including community and cultural facilities.
Key Goals:
- To deliver a realistic and deliverable development on the site that complements and strengthens the performance of the town centre overall.
- Focuses on a mixed-use site including residential, community and cultural infrastructure uses.
- Delivers social, environmental and economic benefits to support the community.
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Objectives:
- Protect heritage and cherished appearance
- Use appropriate scale and density
- Improve walking and cycling connections to surrounding parts of the town
- Improve the condition of the back of town centre plots
- Include a mix of activities
- Use attractive car parking arrangements
- Create good quality green spaces and connect with other green spaces in the town
Once the draft report has been finalised it will be tested for viability. Whilst not all sites within Neighbourhood Plans require testing, with Land South being a key site, the assurance will be needed that the proposals upon which any policy are based are viable. A site is viable if the value generated by its development exceeds the costs of developing it. In town centre locations this can be challenging, as there is a cost to clearing any site from its former use and any contamination contained within it. In particularly in an historic town such as Leighton Buzzard there can be decades or indeed centuries of undiscovered remnants of previous uses of the site, just below the surface.
Background
The original masterplan for the site was created in 2012 and to date there has been no progress with bringing the site forward for redevelopment. As such the Neighbourhood Plan has taken the opportunity to review and build upon recent work to update the masterplan undertaken by both CBC in 2023 and Cllr Goodchild in 2023 and 2024 to consider how this area could be transformed, with the following drivers:
- Leighton Linslade is a growth area and will be expected to deliver further housing in the years to come. Given the community response to early engagement in 2024 that only town centre brownfield should be considered given the amount of recent housing development, this document considers how to maximise the redevelopment potential of the site to limit the amount of greenfield/ greenbelt release needed in the next Local Plan.
- There are considerable challenges with this site, so establishing viable uses with sufficient enabling development to fund community infrastructure and facilities will require any scheme to be led by residential development to pay for these.
- With the current resourcing constraints on the public sector, development is substantially reliant upon private sector funding to bring it forward, so any scheme will need to be commercially attractive in order to lever the community and social infrastructure gains sought.
- There is a desire to reduce congestion and traffic in the town centre. The Neighbourhood Plan is promoting other modes of transport, including cycling, walking and use of public transport. This highly sustainable location provides the opportunity for a transformative approach in considering a development which is less dependent on use of the private car, promoting active travel and public transport opportunities and providing ample spaces for car club cars. Car clubs are a great way to get cars off the road, lessening the need for private or single-use car ownership and helping reduce air pollution and congestion.
- Ensuring the town centre is resilient through the provision of additional footfall from people living, working and spending their money in the town to ensure it continues to be a thriving vibrant place.
- New development should support, not undermine the success of the existing town centre and should not provide retail opportunities which may draw people away from it. It should provide high quality public realm and amenity spaces and enhance links to green infrastructure.
- The wider town centre masterplan will consider overall parking levels and protecting the ability for people to drive into town to park as needed, however, Land South of the High Street should not be dominated by car parking.
- Development should promote a vibrant mixed demographic through the provision of smaller dwellings which may attract young people as well as older people looking to downsize or reside in sheltered accommodation, including those looking to rent as well as buy.
Your views
Please give us your views on this policy area. Do you agree with the goals and objectives for the redevelopment of this site?