New timeline for developing Buckinghamshire’s Local Plan is agreed

The Local Plan for Buckinghamshire will set out a vision and framework for future growth in the county, showing where development can happen, and protect places where it needs to be carefully controlled. Once adopted, the Local Plan will be a critical planning document that the Council will use to help decide planning applications and making other planning related decisions.

It ensures there is enough of the right homes and workplaces, infrastructure, local facilities and services, transport, and sports and recreation, while protecting the environment and our rural county as much as possible.

Without a Local Plan, development will still happen, but the council would have much less control over where and how it happens.

Following the publication of the updated National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024, the Government announced that councils must commit within twelve weeks to new timetables for their Local Plans.

Therefore we have updated our Local Development Scheme (LDS) – which includes the timeline for developing the Local Plan. Following today’s approval from Cabinet this will now be implemented.

Peter Strachan is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration. He said:

“We have been working towards a Local Plan for Buckinghamshire for some years. This is a critical piece of work that will shape the future of our county and impacts our residents, businesses and is of course of significant interest to developers.

In recent months, the government has made significant changes to planning policy and has allocated many more new homes to Buckinghamshire. This means it’s even more crucial to meet the deadlines for the Local Plan timetable to get this in place allowing local people the greatest level of control over development in Buckinghamshire. This is why today we have approved our new timetable for producing the Local Plan – this is the fastest option for getting it in place, which offers us the greatest chance of controlling housing land supply, reducing planning by appeal and protecting the Green Belt.”

At today’s meeting, the Council’s updated Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) was also approved. This is a document that the council must produce and keep up to date to ensure effective community involvement at all stages in the planning process.

It sets out how anyone who lives, works, plays or carries out business in the Buckinghamshire Council area can be involved in local planning decisions and the preparation of planning documents