Plan to guide development across Buckinghamshire to be looked at by council's cabinet
A local plan setting out how Buckinghamshire should provide the 91,000 homes is set to take a step forward.
Cabinet will consider the plan on Tuesday, November 10, and is being asked to recommend that it is sent to full council for approval.
If full council approves Cabinet’s recommendation, the council will submit the plan to the Secretary of State for independent examination by a planning inspector.
The move follows a formal public consultation that attracted around 12,600 representations.
Council officers say they have reviewed the responses and that the plan is ready for that examination.
It is intended to guide development across Buckinghamshire until 2045, including where new housing and employment sites should be located, and what infrastructure is needed.
The consultation raised concerns about whether the proposed housing target can be delivered, whether concentrating growth in the north of the county is the right approach, and whether roads, schools, healthcare, water and other services can cope. There were also questions over green belt evidence and strategic sites.
The council says its strategy is supported by evidence on housing need, transport, sustainability, infrastructure and the availability of sites.
It argues that development should be focused outside the green belt first and says it has not found exceptional circumstances to release more green belt land.
But the papers acknowledge that delivering the plan will depend on infrastructure projects involving outside organisations.
The council estimates that supporting infrastructure could cost at least £6.5 billion, with most expected to be funded through developer contributions and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
It warns it cannot guarantee the timing or delivery of schemes that are not under its control.
The authority has suggested a series of changes for the inspector to consider, which it says mainly address factual and formatting errors.
It is not proposing to rewrite the plan before submission. The inspector could require more significant changes, including changes to policies or the removal of a proposed site - any main modifications would be subject to public consultation.
The council has been directed by the Government to submit the plan by December 31. It says missing the deadline could trigger further intervention and leave Buckinghamshire more vulnerable to speculative development while legacy plans are more than five years old.
Submission would begin the examination process, not approve the plan. The council’s timetable gives the examination period as December 2026 to September 2027. Its reports differ on adoption, estimating September to December 2027 in one and early 2028 in the other.