Prefered bidder chosen for major 1,100-home Aylesbury Woodlands development

Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to proceed with the council’s preferred bidder for Woodlands, a major mixed-use site on the east side of Aylesbury.

The development has outline planning consent to provide 102,800 m2 of employment land, up to 1,100 new homes, 60 residential extra care units and a mixed-use local centre of up to 4,000 m2.

A 5,700 m2 hotel and conference centre is also planned, along with leisure facilities, land for a sports village, athletes’ accommodation and up space for a primary school.

“It will also importantly deliver our third enterprise zone in the county and very significant commercial floorspace, so it is a very, very significant site in that context,” Steve Bambrick, corporate director for planning, growth and sustainability, told Tuesday’s meeting.

He added: “It will also, when developed, deliver the Eastern Link Road, which is a really important part of the overall Aylesbury highway network strategy.”

The council is trying to complete the ring road around the town to alleviate traffic in Aylesbury town centre.

As part of this, work is already well underway on the South Eastern Aylesbury Link Road, but the Eastern Link Road will be ‘another piece of the jigsaw’, according to Mr Bambrick.

Cllr Angela Macpherson told the meeting she supported Woodlands but was ‘slightly bothered’ by the lack of health provision in the development.

Bucks Council also confirmed it had secured Government funding of £24m which will go towards the ELR project.