Harlington Village Action Group

We are a group of Harlington residents fighting to preserve the village's best interests

ACT BEFORE SEPTEMBER 9TH! Provide your objection to the Pegasus development. Click here for more details

What We're Fighting For

We are a campaigning organisation against unsustainable development and the loss of the much-valued countryside and further loss of Green Belt and productive agricultural land.

In the face of sizeable new development proposals coming forward in Harlington, we are a group of residents concerned on how these developments will impact our rural community, place pressure on infrastructure, reduce wildlife and limit access to the green belt.

We recognise that there is a pressing requirement to provide new housing. However, our community has experienced several years of development projects which, unfortunately, have resulted in homes that are largely beyond the financial reach of local residents.

This pattern of unaffordable development has also placed significant pressure on existing local services. The additional demand has created challenges that our community continues to face.

We are advocating for a planning approach that preserves our precious green belt land and retains Harlington's setting and character as a village.

Image courtesy of Andrew Parish

Understanding the Local Plan and its impact

Central Bedfordshire is to be a major focus area for the building of additional housing between Oxford and Cambridge. Using Central Government guidelines, Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) have allocated an additional 25,500 new homes to be built in our area by 2050.

This is in addition to the 44,000 homes already included in the 2015-2035 Local Plan.

In order to accommodate this extra housing, the 2015-2035 Local Plan is being modified and folded into a new Local Plan that will be adopted in 2028 and will guide future development until 2050.

Apart from housing, the new Local Plan will include provision for new employment (e.g. Commercial development), renewable energy systems and green spaces.

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) have therefore been tasked with sourcing areas of land as potential sites to meet these future land requirements. This is done through a process as follows:

1. Call for sites - completed in 2024

2. Screening of sites - completed, with sites unsuitable for residential development removed

3. Further assessment of sites - this is being conducted now by the Council and ends on 17th August 2026. A Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA) will be drawn up. Please refer to our Local Plan Consultation page for more details.

After the Local Plan Consultation ends in August, in the autumn a mandatory consultation will take place which is known as Reg 23 and covers the overall strategy of the Local Plan. The primary question that this consultation answers is where to locate new homes: across large towns, small towns, or villages and rural communities, or all of these options.

Next year ( 2027) there will be another public consultation on the shortlist of sites, before CBC Ward Councillors make the final decision. Please keep an eye on this website for updates.

Sign Up To Our Mailing List

Join Now

View our privacy policy here