Bartonians' views on housing development

A sincere thank you to all who returned our survey to tell us what you think is the best way forward for housing development around here and in the country more generally.

There is a real appreciation of the need to (re-)develop sites in towns and cities here in the South-East but also in the Midlands and the North. There's also wide support in principle for the idea of developing towns into garden cities where locals support the notion, although several people here thought Ampthill should be excepted.

As for Barton-le-Clay and walks out to surrounding villages, the majority cherished the Green Belt and wish it to be safeguarded. Janet Nunn and Jonathan Paxton thank you for your responses.

1. General - Use of paths around Barton-le-Clay: The vast majority of respondents regularly use our footpaths, but a small handful have developed mobility issues with age and can no longer do so. This highlighted that people who use a wheelchair or mobility scooter also want to gaze on the lovely views around here, yet the staggered fence blocks access to the Bunyan Way footpath east off Manor Road. Can this be made wheelchair friendly?

2. Our most used paths: In order of popularity, these were the paths east of Manor Rd; south from Church or Old road; west towards Sharpenhoe; north from Higham Road. 

3. Bartonians' favourite places: the favourite walks were
a. around Barton-le-Clay: to Hexton; to the springs and up the Barton Hills; to the Sharpenhoe Clappers.
b. around other Beds-Herts villages: in order of popularity, around Silsoe, Pegsdon, Old Warden, Shillington, Meppershall, Clophill, Maulden, Shefford, Pirton, Ashwell, Woburn, Woburn Sands, Harlington, Holwell, Willington, Arlesey, Dunstable Downs, Lilley, Kimpton
c. among towns of Beds and Herts: in order of popularity, Hitchin, Ampthill, Bedford, Luton and its Stockwood and Wardown Parks, Stotfold, Harpenden and its Common, Hertford, Wyboston
d. of Beds, Herts, Bucks cities: MK, Letchworth, St Albans, Stevenage, Welwyn GC, Tring, Aylesbury
e. other: London, Cambridge, Oxford

4. New Housing sites proposed were:
a. in/around Barton-le-Clay: the vast majority said none; two said the infrastructure wouldn't support more growth; one person suggested Faldo Road and west of Barton-le-Clay; one person said 'west of village centre, off Sharpenhoe Rd'; one person said 'on the several available plots around Barton' without identifying any
b. in/around villages of Beds/Herts: people felt strongly that brownfield sites be used and also suggested of Sandridge, Wheathampstead, Wilstead/Wixams, Offley, Cockernhoe and one person saying 'we're not qualified to comment'
c. in/around towns of Beds/Herts: brownfield sites were overwhelmingly urged, citing Stopsley and Luton, especially the old Vauxhall site; inner Dunstable and Houghton Regis near new by-pass; Leighton Buzzard; Stewartby, Kempston; Bedford; corridors along M1-A1M; extension of new sites in Wixams, Silsoe
d. in/around cities of Beds, Herts, Bucks: MK, Luton South, Stevenage, Aylesbury
e. other: general support for brownfield site development; one person said there was 'plenty of room around Bucks villages, but they'd need their transport links improved'.

5. Make certain willing towns on the Oxford-Cambridge axis into Garden Cities:
a. support: most people supported the idea; a handful were unsure; two said 'not Ampthill' and one opposed
b. prefer to grow villages in SE England: two people supported this option and all other respondents disagreed
c. prefer to grow cities and opportunities around UK - the SE has enough: several people supported this proposal, with one person citing how 'North and Midlands towns need better investment and opportunities'; one person said 'by far the best idea'; one person was 'unsure about the SE having enough'
d. other: town regeneration and maintaining villages were the preferred priorities. One person thought Lincs with its low population density had great scope for development.

Garden cities best safeguard for Green Belt

 My daughter's boyfriend lives in Bicester and to visit him using public transport, she takes the X5 westwards from Bedford through Milton Keynes. The buses can only rarely stick to timetable and take almost two hours, without adding on travel time from Barton-le-Clay to Bedford. The Lib Dem vision to develop between three and five garden towns or cities along the Cambridge-Oxford axis would mean  investment in roads, trainlines and other infrastructure, slashing train journey times between Cambridge and Oxford from two and a half hours to 60 minutes - see http://www.libdems.org.uk/new_garden_city_train_link

Another benefit of this Lib Dem vision would be the building of 300,000 new homes in a co-ordinated and controlled way in this part of the country, starting with Bicester as pioneer.  It would thereby reduce the pressure to add hundreds and sometimes thousands of homes to every town and village here, which would turn villages into town and towns into cities indiscriminately, concreting over our Green Belt.

There should certainly be no large scale house building at Barton-le-Clay, sited as we are on the aquifer of the Barton Clay Vale between the chalk escarpment of the Chilterns to the south and the Greensand Ridge to the north, stretching up into Cambridgeshire..

The winter rains of 2014 saw water levels here rise in much of Barton to within six inches of the ground. When we flood it is through the water table rising, flooding gardens, patios and, in the worst cases, homes. Culverts on Manor Road brimmed with rainwater and homes at the juncture of Stuart Road and Windsor Road saw their gardens and patios flood. Building over more of the aquifer makes no sense given that the water table will rise again as rains fall. And with climate change, we are having wetter winters and warmer summers.

How is it for you in heavy rain? Does your garden become waterlogged or the patio flood? What do you think of the idea of having Bicester and other towns on the Cambridge-Oxford axis developed into garden cities like Letchworth and Welwyn? Janet Nunn wants to hear your views on janet.nunn@ntlworld.com