Bucks Council’s Cabinet agrees to recommend its Local Plan be sent to Full Council for approval
Bucks Council’s Local Plan, which sets out where development should go across the county up to 2045, is due to be considered by councillors at the end of the month. If approved, it will be submitted for independent examination by a planning inspector.
Council leader Steven Broadbent described the housing requirement as one of the most challenging the authority had faced. He said the Government had imposed the numbers on the council and that he believed the plan was the largest currently being prepared.
Cllr Peter Strachan, the council’s cabinet member for planning, called the decision another significant step after the completion of the Regulation 19 consultation. He said the plan was about securing sustainable development, not simply providing homes. He added that it had been developed using extensive evidence and that many people had responded positively to its direction.
Cllr Thomas Broom criticised the 91,000-home target as excessive for Buckinghamshire and accused the Government of declaring a “war on the countryside”. He said the council had tried to accommodate growth in the least disruptive way possible, but that he would have preferred the needs-based assessment used by the previous government.
The plan attracted around 12,600 representations during consultation. Concerns included whether the housing target could be delivered, the concentration of growth in the north of the county, and whether roads, schools, healthcare and other services could cope.
The council estimates infrastructure to support the plan could cost at least £6.5 billion. It expects £5.6bn to come from developer contributions and the Community Infrastructure Levy, while warning it cannot guarantee the timing or delivery of projects controlled by outside organisations.
The council has suggested changes for the inspector to consider, which it says mainly address factual and formatting errors. More substantial changes could still be required during the examination, including changes to policies or the removal of a proposed site. Any main modifications would be subject to public consultation.
The Government has directed the council to submit the plan by December 31. Cabinet agreed all three recommendations at its meeting this morning, but this does not adopt the plan. It will first go to Full Council and, if approved there, begin the independent examination process.