MP raises 'strong concerns' with local plan to construct over 27,000 homes in Aylesbury
Aylesbury’s MP has raised concerns with the draft local plan which is currently in a consultation period.
Bucks Council has released the latest draft of its plan to meet the Government’s housing demands. In the plans released last week, the authority outlined where 91,000 homes could be constructed across Buckinghamshire by 2045.
However, Aylesbury’s MP has questioned how its housing plans have been allocated. Laura Kyrke-Smith questioned why Aylesbury and its surrounding villages are slated to inherit over 30% of the new dwellings when the area has already been subject to several major new developments in recent years.
Ms Kyrke-Smith said in a statement on social media: “I also question whether it’s fair for Aylesbury and the villages, with 20% of Buckinghamshire’s existing population, to accommodate over 30% of Buckinghamshire’s housing growth, having already accommodated so much already.”
Her previous gripe referenced Bucks Council’s delay in publishing a development plan given it was established as a unitary authority in 2020.
Bucks Council says the development locations included in the scheme were “most sustainable locations” for development in Buckinghamshire. It also said protecting the countryside, Green Belt locations, and important landscapes, was a priority.
Previously, the authority has raised the alarm over the 95,000 home target associated with the 20-year development plan. According to the council’s data the Government’s target represents a 43% increase on the number of homes it was seeking to create during the time period.
"For too long it has been too hard to afford a decent place to live,” Labour MP Ms Kyrke-Smith said of her party’s national policy. “The Government is committed to turning this around with a bold national housebuilding programme, including affordable housing and council housing. This is both right and necessary.”
As The Bucks Herald outlined last week, several medium sized developments could be built around Aylesbury town centre under the plan. But Aylesbury’s MP main concerns were with the larger developments that could be built in and around villages neighbouring the town.
In Aston Clinton, the village could see an additional 1,100 dwellings built in the northern side of its existing area. It is also likely to be impacted by plans to potentially 3,000 homes on nearby land to the south of the A41 and a further 1,700 properties to the south of the A-road.
Under the proposals the village of Wing is earmarked for a potential 1,600 new homes and land by Cheddington could be used for the construction of 3,650 dwellings.
Ms Kyrke-Smith said: “My first concern is the appropriateness of the very large developments proposed near Wing and Cheddington. I am also looking carefully at the large numbers proposed for Aston Clinton.
“I am very surprised that Cheddington has now been included in the Plan, having been rejected by the Government’s New Towns Taskforce just last year, and deprioritised in earlier drafts of the Council’s Plan. The Council's own assessments identify several infrastructure challenges for Cheddington, including rural road networks, constrained rail capacity, and limited bus routes. I also cannot see how somewhere as small as Cheddington gets green-lighted for development when the Government’s guidance prioritises building in bigger urban settlements first.
“Wing Action Group has already made very compelling points to challenge the Council’s proposals for their village, from the high-quality agricultural land included in the site, to the pressure on schools, healthcare, traffic, and many other aspects of the existing community, as well as the cumulative environmental impact of the proposed development. Some housing growth could be appropriate in Wing, but the proposed New Town is a fundamental alteration to the village’s character, more than doubling the number of existing dwellings.”
Politicians raised concerns with the potential inclusion of a north Buckinghamshire village being turned into a ‘new town’ under the Government’s house-building scheme. But when the locations were announced last year the taskforce selected land in Milton Keynes instead. Each area selected will see an increase of at least 10,000 properties to address the UK’s housing crisis.
Ms Kyrke-Smith also accused the council of abandoning the Government’s affordable housing targets. She said: “My second concern is the lower-than-expected targets for affordable and social housing. The Government has set a target for a minimum of 40% affordable homes per county, with half of that being social housing. Buckinghamshire Council has said that in the north of the county only 25% is viable.”
"It is not acceptable for residents to be put through all the disruption and distress of housing developments only to perpetuate existing patterns of unaffordability, and I will be asking for another look at whether this percentage can be increased,” she added.
The Labour MP also said she would submit a formal response during the current six-week consultation period for the plan. Her third key concern with the project related to what she saw as a lack of “proposed infrastructure and services”.
Councillor Peter Strachan told The Bucks Herald: “Buckinghamshire Council recognises that residents care deeply about the future of Aylesbury and the surrounding areas and want any growth to be supported by the infrastructure and services communities need.
“The draft Buckinghamshire Local Plan has been prepared in response to national government-imposed housing requirements. Our role in meeting this significant housing target is to identify the most sustainable locations for development across the county while protecting our countryside, Green Belt and nationally important landscapes wherever possible.
“As the county town, Aylesbury has an important role to play in meeting future housing requirements and the proposals for Aylesbury and the surrounding areas form part of the wider county-wide draft Plan currently under consultation.
“The draft Buckinghamshire Local Plan has now been published for consultation on its soundness and legal compliance. We encourage residents, businesses, community groups and elected representatives to review the Plan and submit their comments. All representations received during the consultation will be submitted to the independent planning inspectors for consideration as part of the examination process. “Without an up-to-date Local Plan, the council would have significantly less control over where development takes place leaving the county more vulnerable to speculative and unplanned development.”