Land at Gibraltar Corner, Kempston

FAQ

The Principle of Development

The site is approximately 21 hectares of predominantly agricultural land, located between Kempston, Wootton and Bedford, divided by Home Road.

To address the chronic under supply of homes in the UK, the Government has committed to building 1.5 million new homes and national planning policy supports this commitment. As a result, all councils must allocate land to deliver enough homes to meet their housing needs.

There is a significant need for new homes both nationally and locally. Bedford Borough Council currently cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, meaning the borough is falling behind in delivering the number of homes required to meet local housing needs. The site represents a sustainable location that can help meet some of these needs.

Whilst the site is not currently allocated, it did previously form part of a larger allocation within the Bedford Local Plan 2040 under Policy HOU13: Land at Gibraltar Corner, which identified the area as suitable for landscape-led residential growth and green infrastructure.

The Local Plan was withdrawn for reasons unconnected to this specific site. The Council previously assessed the land identified as a suitable and sustainable location for development, and its credentials for development remain unchanged.

Due to the absence of a five-year housing land supply and delays in the Local Plan process, the proposals are being progressed through an outline planning application to help meet identified housing needs.

Axis Land Partnerships is a development and land promotion company. Axis specialises in bringing forward land for residential and mixed-use developments, working collaboratively with landowners, communities, and local authorities to deliver sustainable and well-planned projects.

Axis will not build the homes themselves. As a land promoter, our role is to prepare a high-quality masterplan to guide future development of the site and to achieve a planning permission.

Following that, the land will likely be sold to a homebuilder that specialises in constructing new homes. The specific homebuilder will be determined at a later stage but will be carefully selected to ensure they adhere to the vision and principles of the masterplan. The homebuilder will require a further permission from the Council for the detailed designs of the new homes and buildings to be provided – this is known as ‘Reserved Matters’.

The Development Proposals

The proposals include up to 295 energy-efficient new homes.

Yes. Bedford Borough planning policy requires 30% of homes to be affordable, and the proposals will meet this requirement.

We have submitted an outline planning application, which has been validated by Bedford Borough Council and is now under consideration. You can find the application by clicking this link here and entering the application reference: 26/01428/MAO.

An outline application establishes the principle of development and key parameters, such as access locations, areas for buildings, green spaces, and building heights. Detailed design and the exact layout are decided later through a Reserved Matters application.

Landscape, Green Space & Nature

The submitted proposals are landscape-led, meaning green spaces will help shape the layout and character of the development. Existing woodland, hedgerows and mature trees would be retained wherever possible, which will result in a significant net gain in biodiversity.

The development includes:

  • Accessible natural green spaces
  • Informal parkland and amenity space
  • Children’s play areas
  • Tree-lined streets and woodland planting
  • Green routes for walking and cycling

 

These spaces would create opportunities for recreation while supporting biodiversity.

Transport & Movement

Vehicular access is proposed from Home Road and Wood End Lane, with access points carefully located to protect existing trees and ensure safe connections to the road network.

The development will generate some additional traffic, as would be expected from any new housing scheme. However, a detailed Transport Assessment has been prepared to understand how much traffic the proposals are likely to generate and how it would affect the local road network.

The assessment considers the busiest weekday periods, when the greatest impact would be expected, and reviews key local junctions and routes. It also takes account of planned improvements to walking, cycling and public transport connections, which are intended to give residents realistic alternatives to using the car for local journeys.

The proposals include new safe access arrangements, improved pedestrian and cycle links, better connections to nearby bus stops, and off-site highway measures including speed management and crossing improvements. These measures are designed to help manage the impact of the development and encourage sustainable travel.

Overall, while traffic will increase to some degree, the Transport Assessment concludes that the additional traffic can be accommodated on the local highway network without causing a severe residual impact.

Local Infrastructure

Bedford Borough Council has advised that a new primary school is not required on the site. However, financial contributions may be requested to support the expansion of existing schools.

Healthcare planning is managed by the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board. Contributions toward healthcare infrastructure may be agreed as part of the planning process.

Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows a local planning authority to enter into a legally binding agreement or planning obligation with a landowner/s as part of the granting of planning permission. The obligation is termed a section 106 agreement.

These agreements are a way of delivering or addressing matters that are necessary to make a development acceptable in planning terms. They can be used to support the provision of services and infrastructure, such as recreational facilities, education, health and affordable housing. Such agreements may relate to measures on or off site, and commonly are used to secure financial contributions from developers to be put towards provision of strategic public infrastructure such as school capacity and healthcare capacity.

The financial contributions for the site will be agreed at the outline planning application stage and planning permission would only be issued by Bedford Borough Council if and when the details of the section 106 agreement have been agreed and signed by all parties.

Local Infrastructure

Foul water will connect to the existing Anglian Water sewer network, with a proposed connection to the sewer on Ibbett Close.

Anglian Water has confirmed that upgrades to the sewer network are not currently required as a result of the proposed development.

The development will incorporate a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) to manage rainfall and surface water runoff across the site. These features will include detention basins and landscaped drainage areas designed to hold and control water during heavy rainfall events.

The drainage strategy has been informed by the site’s existing hydrology and catchment conditions to ensure surface water is managed effectively across the development.

In addition, a flood alleviation basin is proposed adjacent to the existing watercourse running through the site. This basin will store water during extreme rainfall events and help reduce flooding in downstream areas to the east of the site.

The site lies within Flood Zone 1, which represents the lowest level of risk from river flooding according to Environment Agency mapping.

A small watercourse runs west to east through the site. A hydraulic model has been developed to better understand how water behaves during heavy rainfall events, including climate change scenarios.

The modelling has identified the extent of flood water during a 1 in 100 year rainfall event with climate change allowances, and built development will not take place within this identified flood area.