In the meantime, this leaves councillors in a weakened positions to refuse applications of large housing development from speculative developers.

In recent months, Cranfield, Langford, Houghton Conquest and Shefford have each fallen prey to speculative developers, who have been given permission to build hundreds of dwellings on the edge of their settlements - a total of 605. 


Although the Council originally refused the applications for 110 dwellings in Langford and 140 dwellings in Shefford, the developers won their cases on appeal in September, with the lack of CBC's development strategy cited as a key reason. Since then CBC has approved a development of 230 dwellings in Cranfield and 125 homes in Houghton Conquest.


The Council has a duty to produce a development strategy for Central Bedfordshire, demonstrating a planned approach to meeting local housing needs, including five years’ worth of housing supply. Without this the Council has little grounds with which to refuse planning permission for housing developments.