Bucks Council has been criticised by the minister of state for housing and planning for missing deadlines regarding homebuilding strategies in the county.

In an open letter published last week, Matthew Pennycook criticised the council’s plan-making process.

Mr Pennycook said that the council’s failure to draft local plans that could be shared with the Government left the area vulnerable to “piecemeal and speculative” housing developments. Details from the Secretary of State published in the letter say that the unitary authority is still using local plans from its various districts that were published prior to the formation of the new Buckinghamshire Council in 2020.

He wrote in the letter addressed to Buckinghamshire Council leader Councillor Steven Broadbent: “All but one of which are more than five years old, meaning they contain policies that may be out-of-date.”

placeholder image — Bucks Council headquarters in Aylesbury

Councillor Broadbent said the letter was “completely unwarranted” and “factually inaccurate”. He said he was writing to the Government “to set the record straight”.

The council leader, who has held the top spot since last May, released a further statement outlining the progress the authority was making with its local plan today.

Mr Pennycook wrote: “As things currently stand, the council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply in any of the former district areas covered by these inherited local plans, putting Buckinghamshire into the presumption in favour of sustainable development. As a result, there is a high likelihood that development will come forward on a piecemeal and speculative basis, with reduced public engagement and fewer guarantees that it will make the most of an area’s potential. These points underline the importance of Buckinghamshire getting an up-to-date plan in place as soon as possible, something that the Council has not yet achieved six years on from its formation.”

Bucks Council confirmed today plans to publish a draft of its local plan this summer which will be subject to public consultation. Currently, residents are invited to comment on the authority’s sites survey, which will be available until March 16. The authority revealed that 1,300 residents have participated in the consultation on the local plan so far.

Mr Pennycook said he was enacting the Secretary of State’s powers provided in section 15(4) of the 2004 Act to demand that the council publish a revised local development scheme by March 16 of this year. This scheme must include Regulation 19 consultation to commence by no later than July 23, 2026, and submission of the plan for examination should be no later than New Year’s Eve, this year, the minister said.

Councillor Broadbent said in response that the council was “fully on track with our plans to publish our draft Local Plan in July 2026”. He added that MPs and other local officials had been briefed on this.

In the letter Mr Pennycook claims that the council had not made any ‘key evidence base documents’ available to the public or any site allocations. He added: “In light of the Council’s history of poor performance with plan-making, including failure to adhere to previous versions of your LDS, I am concerned there is significant risk that the Council could once again fail to meet its own milestones. I therefore believe it is necessary to direct you to implement a measurable timetable that firms up your stated commitment to submitting a plan by 31 December 2026.”

One source told The Bucks Herald: “The letter seriously questions Buckinghamshire Council’s leadership and competence to create the local plan.”