You Said, We Did
Making you part of the conversation is important to us, so we have set out our response to the consultation feedback gathered at the public exhibitions in 2021 below.
While many who responded supported our vision, there were also a significant number who raised a range of concerns. This feedback has been analysed and has been influential in refining the proposals and adapting them to be more in line with your community aspirations.
The local community asked for:
Our response
Community facilities and groups to support young people, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups
The vision for the site is to provide a not-for-profit community hub with high-quality flexible and accessible spaces for the local community. Grace runs a variety of support groups, such as groups aimed at young people, the elderly, those in financial difficulty, and those who are experiencing isolation. The community hub will enable these existing services to be expanded and enhanced as well as creating additional support services to those living in west Kempston.
Support for those with disabilities
Grace are engaging with local schools and organisations that support those with disabilities and learning difficulties. The church aims to partner with these local groups to offer the community hub for their use.
Accessible design to accommodate those with a range of disabilities
This is an area that we are passionate about, and genuine accessibility has been embedded into the design process. Building design and landscaping will be highly accessible and will exceed the minimum requirements stipulated under Building Regulations. There will be sensory areas and learning spaces, and the community hub will include a ‘Changing Places’ facility, ensuring it is accessible to those with multiple and complex disabilities.
A café to act as a focal point for the community
A new community café will be located in a large, welcoming, and naturally lit foyer space within the community hub. The community hub gardens have been carefully designed to enable café users to use the terrace areas for seating, in addition to the seating area inside. The café will be available for ‘drop-in’ use and will feature co-working space for the local community to use.
Walking routes to be retained
Existing Public Rights of Way will be retained and existing paths on the site, used by walkers and dog walkers, will be enhanced and made more accessible. Public access will be secured by the development for the long-term benefit of the local community.
Public open space
From the public consultation, we saw how important the provision of public amenity space was to the local community. The masterplan provides extensive high quality public amenity space, such as new walking and cycling routes, new water features, an orchard, wildflower meadows and formal and informal play spaces.
Play areas and services for children
Children are one of the many groups that the community hub has been designed for. The proposals include flexible, accessible, and safe spaces both inside and outside.
The community hub will provide appropriate sanitary and changing facilities, including facilities for those with mobility issues and sensory impairment.
The community hub gardens will provide secure outdoor play spaces as well as sensory gardens and spaces for exploration and learning. The landscaped meadow at the heart of the development will provide informal and sensitively designed formal play space.
Local residents told us the following parts of the scheme were important to consider:
Our response
Flood risk and drainage
As the proposed site of our community hub, it is also critical to us that risk of flooding is adequately mitigated. Extensive work has been undertaken in liaison with the Environment Agency to ensure that no development will take place on the flood plain. The risk of flooding to the site has been carefully assessed and mitigated to inform a comprehensive Flood Risk Assessment and Sustainable Drainage Strategy for the proposed development.
The drainage strategy for the site will involve the use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS), such as a naturalistic, open water storage basin. The drainage strategy will ensure that surface water drainage is carefully managed on-site and the development does not increase the risk of flooding offsite as a result of surface water runoff.
Protecting local wildlife and biodiversity
Grace wants the Riverside Meadow scheme to protect existing key habitats and provide a greater variety of new habitats. Ecologists have carried out extensive habitat and biodiversity surveys; sensitive ecology areas will not be developed and key landscape features and habitats will be retained and enhanced. For example, existing trees and hedgerows will be largely preserved and new, varied species planted to complement the existing landscape. The masterplan includes high-quality landscape proposals throughout, and the community hub building includes a biodiverse green roof.
Traffic and car parking
We have been working with Bedford Borough Council’s Highways department to establish the requirements for appropriate car parking provision.
New roads and access points have also been carefully designed with input from the Council where appropriate.
In addition, the proposals will enhance the local cycle network with a new cycle route through the site connecting with existing cycle routes to the east and west of the site.
Local heritage
We know that respecting the heritage of the local area is a key priority for the local community. We have been liaising with Bedford Borough Council’s archaeology and heritage officers to help guide the design. Furthermore, the setting of nearby listed buildings has been carefully considered as part of the design process.
The amount of housing in the enabling development
A careful balance has been sought throughout the design process to preserve as much open green space as possible, while providing a sufficient quantity and appropriate mix of housing to help fund the community hub.
In response to feedback from the public consultation, the number of new homes proposed has been reduced slightly to 79. We have been analysing cost and viability to ensure that the amount of housing is the minimum required.
The size of the community hub
In the public consultation the local community provided valuable feedback regarding the size of the proposed community hub.
We have undertaken further analysis to ensure that the community hub is of an appropriate size to meet the needs of the local community. The building floor area and halls have been reduced in size, while still being of sufficient size to meet the needs of the various groups that will use the building.
