POLICY LL5: Land SOUTH OF THE HIGH STREET
The Neighbourhood Plan allocates approximately 2.65 hectares of land to the south of the High Street, as shown on the Policies Map, for a comprehensive, mixed-use development including cultural and community facilities and up to 151 dwellings; the residential element comprising a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments as set out in the “Land South of High Street Spatial Framework” (Appendix B)
Development proposals will be supported where the meet the following objectives:
- They deliver key community facilities, particularly supporting health, cultural and small business, and particularly a new Neighbourhood Health Centre following new government policy,
- Re-use and repurpose existing buildings to bring them back into use where possible.
- Connect the High Street through to Parsons Close Recreation Ground providing greater flow of people between two key community assets,
- Promote active travel and provide genuine alternatives to car ownership including provision of car and cycle clubs, cycle parking, pedestrian focused walking routes with regular seating to enable mobility-impaired local residents to walk through the area (exceeding the standards in the healthy streets initiative)
- Continue to provide an appropriate level of public parking required for the town centre and enabling market traders to continue to frequent the twice weekly market,
- Residential development is targeted on the opportunities for living, shopping and working locally, including opportunities for younger residents and older persons in assisted living.
- Complements the existing town centre architecture and layout, and the neighbouring Parsons Close Recreation Ground.
The Land South of High Street site was identified back in 2012 as a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a significant, positive addition to the town centre. Central Bedfordshire Council created a Development Brief which sought to: “create a sustainable extension to the town centre shopping area which enhances the retail offer and the centre’s competitiveness, while preserving the town centre’s existing high-quality character, reinforcing its distinctiveness and enhancing the town’s historic character and environment.”
The site is in multiple ownerships but with a significant part of the site owned by Central Bedfordshire Council.
Over the following decade there was very little progress in respect of bringing this vision forward; the Town Council sought to bring forward a re-worked masterplan in 2023 and in early 2024 Central Bedfordshire Council marketed the land in their ownership for residential use, with the potential for two parcels of land to be set aside for community use. The site was subsequently withdrawn from sale. The Neighbourhood Plan therefore takes the opportunity to review the original development brief and the 2023 masterplan to create a spatial framework for the site, which has also been subject to viability testing, to inform the creation of a policy to encourage renewed interest in the regeneration of the site.
It is accepted that a level of enabling residential development will be needed in order to fund the community benefits envisaged for the site which include:
- A Neighbourhood Health Centre
- Spaces suitable for community and cultural use such as exhibitions, workshops, dramatic arts, training, youth clubs and meeting spaces for older persons
- Spaces suitable for local small businesses at affordable rents
- A similar amount of public parking provision as is currently available, unless this can be appropriated re-provided elsewhere within the town centre.
Whilst the policy supports the provision of a lower parking standard for residential parking in this sustainable location, this should not result in the unintended consequence of creating additional parking pressures on surrounding local residential roads. As such, the Neighbourhood Plan would support measures by Central Bedfordshire Council, where required, to introduce parking controls through the imposition of residential zones to ensure the availability of parking for existing local residents.
To see the full Leighton-Linslade Neighbourhood Plan Policy Map, or to find instructions about how to use our interactive maps, please visit our Policy Map page.