Stoke Mandeville Parish Council releases neighbourhood plan to protect green spaces

A parish council in Aylesbury has released its neighbourhood plan reflecting its residents urge to protect green spaces in the area.

Today (11 March), Stoke Mandeville Parish Council has released a new neighbourhood plan, which can be accessed here. It reflects a widely-held belief in the neighbourhood that authorities must protect the parks, fields and recreational spaces in the area, which could be used as housing development sites.

Stoke Mandeville Parish Council has announced that preserving green spaces is a key priority for residents. This is based on feedback captured over a seven-year period which has contributed to the neighbourhood plan.

However, the parish council has conceded that it cannot prevent the authorisation of developments which could affect the rural areas in the neighbourhood. Also, it has listed HS2 constructions, new road infrastructures, and potential new housing developments, as projects which have blighted the countryside.

Bucks Council’s Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan 2011-2031 (VALP), aims to build 30,000 new homes in the Aylesbury area, putting pressures on parish councils where new projects may need to be authorised.

Stoke Mandeville Parish Council has identified protecting the former Buckinghamshire County Council Sports and Social Club as an example of it will aim to influence local decision making.

When describing the neighbourhood plan, a parish council spokesperson said: Responding to residents’ frustration with constant traffic jams during rush

hour, the policies require developers to provide specific safe and accessible pedestrian and cyclist routes through the parish, along with other measures to decrease the bottlenecks in and outside the parish.”

Councillor Kirsty Shanahan, chair of Stoke Mandeville Parish Council, added: “While there is little we can do about the new housing and road developments in the Parish, we have taken on board the public’s strong views on preserving as much green space as possible, and we have attempted to mitigate the really terrible traffic congestion that the Parish suffers at peak times.”

“Now it is up to the Inspector to approve the Plan, but public support for the Plan counts for a lot, so we hope residents will take the time to add their support during the Regulation 16 Consultation process which is happening from now until 18 April.”