The application was opposed by a number of bodies including English Heritage and Cardington Parish Council. CPRE Bedfordshire was present at the Planning Committee meeting on 27th January and presented its objection to the application.

We believe that the application is not in the best interests of Bedford Borough residents for a number of reasons:

Reduced S106 obligations amounting to around £2,500,000 that would otherwise contribute to services in the community.

Reduced proportion of affordable housing from an expected 30% to only 10%.

Additional development of land designated as "open countryside" and outside that allocated for housing in Bedford Borough Council's Designations and Allocations Plan adopted only a year ago, undermining trust in our local planning policies. 

Significant harm to the heritage setting of the iconic Grade II* listed airship sheds.

The development of the land is linked to the refurbishment of Shed No 1, with the applicants putting the case that the extensive development is needed to fund the refurbishment. However, the crucial Viability Assessment document that sets out the case for this has been kept secret and out of the public domain.

Despite this, we estimate that by granting planning permission to this application, Bedford Borough Council has effectively benefited the applicants by millions of pounds, possibly exceeding the £9.7 million claimed needed for the refurbishment of Shed No 1. This takes into consideration:

• Reduced S106 obligations from a policy compliant total of £6,180,021 to £3,689,000 - a shortfall of contributions to the Council of around £2.5 million.
• Increased Gross Profit made on housing units with the reduction in affordable housing from 30% to 10%.
• Financial gains to the applicant from the release of open countryside for development, previously valued as agricultural land.

These are only estimates since the the applicant's Viability Assessment and the Council's Independent Assessment have been withheld from public view. In an earlier application for development of this site, this Viability Assessment was in the public domain and able to be scrutinised. When the application returned in 2013 the Viability Assessment was kept secret following legal advice from Bedford Borough's solicitors. CPRE Beds put in a Freedom of Information request to see this legal advice, but this was refused.

A CPRE spokesperson said:

“We need an open and democratic planning system that the public can rely upon to work fairly in their interest. The actions of Bedford Borough Council in keeping the key documents in this case secret are not at all in the interest of Borough residents. The Mayor has questions to answer.

We don't believe that the release of land into open countryside for development is necessary for the refurbishment of the Airship Shed. English Heritage and the Council's own Conservation Officer both say that other options for finance were not sufficiently investigated. The people of Bedford Borough should not be expected to suffer these losses to fully fund the repair of a building in private ownership."