The options set out for delivering this housing growth include creating eleven new villages in the areas of Aspley Guise, the Marston Vale and east of Biggleswade; a new market town near Tempsford; urban expansion east of Arlesey and into Green Belt north and west of Luton, plus some growth in existing villages.

Existing and potential new road and rail links have informed the draft plan– such as the proposed East-West Railway and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

The M1 – A6 link road also features in the plan and its route appears to impact the Chilterns AONB.

We encourage everyone in the area to look at the plans and have your say during the consultation period, which will be from 4th July to 29th August 2017.

Go to www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/localplan or visit your local library or the Council office where copies are available to view. You can download the Local Plan map at the bottom of this page.

We shall update our website soon with our initial thoughts on the draft Local Plan, as well as our final response later in the summer.