Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

Ref: SP8/SP14
2) Baldock has a history of bad air quality which was reduced with the development of the bypass. Referring to Policy D4 and specifically 9.28, with a development the size of BA1, this is going to have a significant impact on air quality, even if you assumed an average of one car per household, that's the additional emmissions of 3290 cars being injected into a small town alone, let alone all the other forms of emissions/pollution that will be generated during & post the development. As well as the obvious health concerns, pollutants can cause damage to historic buildings which are plentiful in Baldock, especially within the Conservation area. Based on this policy alone, BA1 should be rejected and therefore plan is UNJUSTIFIED and NOT EFFECTIVE

With specific reference to ECON6 and BA1 to 11, how does increasing the size of Baldock by 80%, by adding an additional 3290 homes meet "ensuring development is of an appropriate scale". Say an average of 2 people per home thats at least 6500 additional people trying to utilise the local services & straining infrastructure. Therefore the plan is UNJUSTIFIED

The already congested A507 into the crossroads at Whitehorse Street/Station road which provides the only vehicular access to the station and is the favoured route by most Sat-Navs for routing traffic to/from the A1 cannot cope with the additional load, which will certainly come from the BA1 development. The proposal of a separate road through the development (13.29) does not guarantee prevention and it would be niave to assume this. To quote from the NHDC Letchworth and Baldock Urban Transport Plan (July 2007) - "Baldock is particularly unsuited to high levels of traffic, especially through the narrowest roads of the historic town centre (e.g. White Horse Street)".

2) There is no evidence of consultation with the Railway provider as to how the addition of such a large number of additional commuters can be handled. Is there scope for increasing the size of the station or improving the access & parking? Based on the current geography & location, this is doubtful and the rail company is actually proposing cuts to the services in/out of Baldock.