increase in the number of new homes central
government says must be built here.
The council
has launched a consultation today (Wednesday 17 September) on its draft Local
Plan for Buckinghamshire. This is somethingthat
all councils are expected to have in place; the Local Plan sets out the
strategy for meeting Buckinghamshire’s future housing and employment
requirement through to the year 2045. Following consultation feedback and the
completion of a technical evidence base, the final Plan, due next year, will
outline what infrastructure is needed to support growth, whilst also protecting
the county’s most valued environments. Not having a Local Plan leaves
Buckinghamshire vulnerable to speculative and unplanned developments.
The draft of
the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire that residents are being asked to comment on
will have to accommodate a huge increased level of housing to meet a new
national target set by central government of 95,000 new homes and represents a
43% increase on what the council had previously been required to plan for. The
council has therefore prepared a plan that reflects these higher growth numbers
and is asking for views to help shape the final version in time for the
submission deadline of December 2026 to central government.
Peter Strachan
is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning.
He said:
“Before the
new government came to power, we were already moving forward proposals to meet
the needs of the county that showed where new homes could be accommodated and
the right places for these developments in Buckinghamshire.
The new target
of 95,000 houses increases our requirement by 43%, and with possible new towns
also on the horizon, the population in Buckinghamshire could increase by almost
50% by 2045.
Having an
up-to-date plan gives us some control over where new development should
happen in Bucks; if we don’t do this within the statutory deadlines set by
central government then we, and by that I mean all of us, will have even less
say over how and where these new homes are built.
Also, if this
many new homes are to be built here they need to come with the necessary
infrastructure. We can’t have tens of thousands of new homes without the new
roads, community facilities, schools, health services and other infrastructure
needed for all these new residents.
I invite all
residents, businesses and local groups and our partners to take a look at our
draft Local Plan proposals and feedback their views.”
Notes to Editor
The Local Plan consultation focuses on the approaches
to the spatial strategy for meeting the housing and employment requirements
along with development management policies on topics such as the natural
environment, infrastructure, housing and employment
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