New homes plan for village near Bedford

Six new detached homes could be built in a north Bedford village, if planning is approved.

An outline planning application has been submitted to Bedford Borough Council to build up to six detached dwellings in Five Bells Field, on Riseley’s High Street.

The site, an open grass paddock between no.34 and no.36 High Street, is generally used for grazing horses.

The application’s illustrative plan shows six detached family three- and four-bedroom homes. However, the application form states six ‘4+’ bedroom homes.

The applicant said the Neighbourhood Plan group conducted a housing needs survey for the village in 2019.

This found that 20 owner-occupier households are looking to purchase housing on the open market in Riseley in the “next 10 years” with a strong desire for three-bedroom bungalows.

The planning application statement also said that the report concluded: “it is reasonable to suggest that the provision of up to ten suitable units would meet a reasonable proportion of the [housing] need while being in keeping with the size of the parish.

“These could be delivered separately or alongside affordable housing as part of a rural exception site, with the market housing cross-subsidising the affordable housing.”

In March 2022, the Neighbourhood Plan Group recommended that no sites should be allocated for housing development in the parish.

As the Riseley Neighbourhood Plan is not at an advanced stage and is to yet been examined, its emerging policies “do not carry any weight” in the decision making process, the applicant said.

More information can be found on the borough council’s planning portal, reference 23/00137/OUT.

The overall consultation expiry date is Friday, February 24, 2023.