Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I wish to raise my objections to the above plan. The criteria for my objections are as follows

1) No "Exceptional Circumstances" have been shown for the removal of the Green Belt Status currently afforded this area. Meeting "Luton's Unmet Need" does not justify removing the status. Luton has absolutely loads of Brown Field sites that meet their needs. In fact, Luton recently allowed Milton Keynes to buy a whole tower block to house their residents. I know new houses need to be built but the are plenty of alternative options on sites that can easily accessed & acquired without the investment in infrastructure that this plan requires.

2) There are currently only two roads in & out of this area. These are one car lanes with passing spaces every few hundred yards. These lanes are being used at this time as a "Rat Run" to & from the A505.
Luton BC has already said that the proposed site would need 5000 new homes before a major link could be built. There are only two feed roads that lead to the M1, Crawley Green Road & Eaton Green Road.
These roads are already congested & with Luton Airport expansion in progress these roads are set to be even worse including the added passenger/employee traffic. Also the construction of Napier Park on the Vauxhall site will increase volumes of traffic even further .It is estimated this development will have 7000 employees (LBC) It will make almost impossible to get out of Wigmore Estate. 2100 homes equates to 4000+ vehicles all being channelled down two single lane roads


3) The volume of homes being proposed is out of proportion. 2100+ homes will completely wipe out Tea Green, Cockenhoe & Mangrove Green as well as overshadowing the homes in Wigmore that will border this proposal.
Where will the people living in these houses go to the doctors, schools etc. There is only one or two surgeries in this area. It already takes more than a week to get an appointment. The schools are bursting at the seams. The infrastructure cannot cope with this development.

4) The paths & woodlands that would disappear are currently used by all the communities. Walking, cycling, running would all be gone. The wildlife would also be adversely affected. The area is populated by wild deer, owls & bats. There are also Red Kites which nest in the woodland. All this would be gone. Below is an extract from the RSPB website concerning the Red Kite

Legal status

The red kite is afforded the highest degree of legal protection under the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

It is an offence to take, injure or kill a red kite or to take, damage or destroy its nest, eggs or young. It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb the birds close to their nest during the breeding season. Violation of the law can attract fines up to £5,000 per offence and/or a prison sentence of up to six months.

With a hope that sense will prevail