Central Bedfordshire Local Plan and What It Shows for Leighton Buzzard

About Call for Sites

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) are currently updating the Local Plan for Central Bedfordshire. As part of this there will be a need to allocate sites for new homes and jobs, and potentially supporting infrastructure.

What’s happened so far

The Local Plan ‘Call For Sites’ took place between November 2024 and January 2025.

626 sites were put forward, for various uses, including: residential, commercial, renewable energy and green spaces.

This is the total number of sites that have been put forward for consideration and the Council has not yet conducted all the analysis which will be required before a view can be taken on which of these sites are suitable for the proposed use.

Initial assessment – residential

For those sites submitted for residential use, CBC carried out an initial assessment to validate the submissions (removing any duplicates or errors) and identifying whether there are any obvious factors that would justify excluding the sites at this early stage of the process. This includes:

Sites that are too small to deliver a minimum of 10 new homes, or couldn’t do so once absolute constraint areas have been removed (such as National Landscapes, SSSIs, sites already allocated/with planning permission and those in the highest flood risk areas) have been removed.
Land where there is a legal or landowner impediment to development. This could be where land has been submitted without the permission of the landowner or where there is no confirmation that the site can be developed for the proposed use.
Sites that are not well-connected to an existing settlement (i.e. not directly next to the edge of a settlement and unable to benefit from existing infrastructure) but not large enough to deliver a new settlement with its own infrastructure. To be considered as a standalone development, there would need to be enough homes to provide the new infrastructure required to support that development (such as schools). This is likely to be a site that can provide more than 1000 homes.

As a result of this initial assessment, 132 sites have been initially discounted for the delivery of new homes. These sites still need to be assessed for other uses such as Gypsy and Traveller provision and employment use (where they have been put forward for those uses). There are also some sites we have discounted that may not be suitable on their own but could be reconsidered alongside other sites that have either been submitted or are in emerging Local Plans being prepared by neighbouring councils.

See what the Local Plan means for Leighton Buzzard

To view a map of the 132 sites and that have been identified please visit https://consultations.central-bedfordshire.urbanintelligence.co.uk/public-web-map?eventId=85

Remaining sites

The remaining sites will now go through a rigorous assessment process to determine whether they could be considered for future development.

This will involve assessing criteria such as:

proximity to existing facilities (e.g. schools, public transport connections, GP surgeries and green spaces)
flood risk
whether there is any impact on the environment and heritage assets (e.g. scheduled monuments)
accessibility
land ownership

A judgement will then be made on whether each site can be considered suitable, available and achievable in line with national planning policies.

Sites that meet these criteria will go into a shortlist, which is called a Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA). The SLAA identifies all sites that might have the potential for development. We are aiming to complete the SLAA towards the end of the year. Being in the SLAA does not mean that a site will be included in the Local Plan.

Public consultation

A first draft of the Local Plan (known as issues and options) will be published for consultation in early 2026. This will consider options for the location of new development e.g. should growth be located near to existing infrastructure or should new settlements be prioritised. These high-level options will be based upon the sites that have been submitted, but the SLAA sites will be considered against a range of studies and evidence, as well as the response and outcomes of public engagement, before any decisions are made about which sites are allocated in the Local Plan.

For further information or assistance, please contact localplan@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.