Planning Application Land Off Trafalgar Drive
Application No: CB/23/03861/OUT Location: Land off Trafalgar Drive – Salisbury Road Flitwick Beds Proposal: Outline Application: Residential development comprising the formation of a new access off Trafalgar Drive & Salisbury Road with an extension to the new Flitwick Nature Park with reserved matters for appearance, landscape, layout & scale
Flitwick Town Council (FTC) has received formal notification of the above planning application for land off Trafalgar Drive which includes an extension to the Nature Park, Maulden Road.
Including an extension to the Nature Park in the planning application infers that the Council has formally agreed for an extension to the Nature Park to be included. The Council would like to confirm that this is categorically not the case. FTC has not made any agreement with the developer for this proposal and, in fact, rejected the offer to extend the Nature Park at the Town Council meeting on 17th October.
Central Bedfordshire Council is the planning authority, and the Town Council’s role in the planning process is to represent the wider community and comment on planning applications as a consultee.
FTC has a robust system for considering all planning applications before submitting a formal response. Last year, a new Planning Improvement Working Group (PIWG) was formed which consists of town councillors and local residents.
The PIWG’s role is to engage, with CBC, developers and residents, to influence plans before they reach an advanced stage and ensure the best possible outcomes for the town.
Meetings were held with the PIWG and the developer on 22nd February and 30th August this year to discuss the application. The PIWG subsequently submitted a report based on these discussions to the Town Council for consideration at the October meeting, as all decisions on major planning engagements are reserved to be considered by the full council.
Members discussed the merits of the offer from this developer to extend the Nature Park at the October Town Council meeting. Members rejected the offer to extend the Nature Park as part of the development at this meeting.
A letter from the Town Clerk was sent to the developer on 24th October stating that FTC does not endorse the proposed development for land off Trafalgar Drive and will consider the revised application before taking a formal position as part of the Council’s normal process.
The Town Council will consider this planning application on its own merits through the PIWG, before a decision is made by the Town Council in January 2024. In the meantime, we encourage all residents to view and respond to the application by logging onto CBC’s Planning website via this link and enter planning reference: 23/03861
The Council believes that this planning application is misleading as the proposed extension to the Nature Park is not linked to FTC’s development of the Nature Park and has not been agreed.