Draft Local Plan Regulation 19 Document

Chapter 4 – Vision and Strategic Objectives Comment

4.1The following strategic objectives have been developed to support the delivery of the Vision for Buckinghamshire and provide the framework for the spatial strategy, policies and proposals set out in the Local Plan. Together, the objectives seek to support sustainable growth, protect and enhance Buckinghamshire’s valued natural and historic environment, address climate change, improve health and wellbeing, strengthen the economy and ensure that development is supported by the infrastructure, services and facilities required by existing and future communities.

4.2The objectives are closely interrelated and should be read. Together, they provide the basis for shaping how Buckinghamshire will grow and change over the plan period, ensuring that development is sustainable, infrastructure-led and responsive to local character, environmental constraints and community needs.

4.3The natural environment provides many benefits, which include improving air quality, mitigating the effects of climate change, providing habitats for flora and fauna, and providing places for people to connect with nature.

4.4The Chilterns National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) already has a high level of protection. Whilst Green Belt is not an environmental designation, it still protects areas from development, preventing sprawl and keeping areas open. 

4.5Buckinghamshire has three Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) – the Chilterns Beechwoods, Burnham Beeches and in the south-west, adjacent to the Chilterns Beechwoods, Aston Rowant on the boundary with Oxfordshire. Two of these SACs require financial contributions from developers to offset the additional recreational impact of future development and provision of Suitable Alternative Natural Green space (SANG).

4.6Buckinghamshire also has many historic towns and villages with around 180 conservation areas and close to 6,000 listed buildings. Buckinghamshire has several Registered Parks and Gardens which are protected. Whilst some areas experience change, the Local Plan supports the conservation of Buckinghamshire’s historic places and buildings.

4.7The need to accommodate growth in Buckinghamshire inevitably places pressure on the natural and built environment.

4.8The Council will work with partners and stakeholders to ensure nature recovery aims are achieved, including implementing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Planning for Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

4.9The Local Plan for Buckinghamshire helps deliver the Bucks Climate Challenge to ensure that Buckinghamshire achieves net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Data shows that 51% of emissions in Buckinghamshire are transport related. The Local Transport Plan for Buckinghamshire sets out our priorities for reducing our transport carbon emissions through sustainable travel choices, ultra-low or zero emission vehicles, and digital connectivity to reduce the need to travel. The Local Plan also supports the delivery Local Nature Recovery Strategy, plus our Green Infrastructure Strategy for strengthen our networks of parks, lakes, rivers and canals.

4.10Evidence has improved our understanding of current and future flooding impacts across Buckinghamshire. Climate change is expected to greatly increase local flood risks in areas such as the south-western and south-eastern edges of South Bucks, the environs of the River Thames in the Wycombe area, areas east of Aylesbury and the Great Ouse around Buckingham. High Wycombe and Chesham are identified nationally as areas of significant surface water flood risk. The areas with properties at highest risk from catchment-wide flooding from a cumulative level of growth are at the far northwest of Buckinghamshire (edges of Milton Keynes) and at Aylesbury and High Wycombe Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. Future development prioritises sites with the lowest flood risk before considering areas which will need to include flood mitigation measures.

Planning for New Housing

4.11There is a national standard Local Housing Need method which local authorities are required to use to assess the number of new houses they should aim to deliver in the future. For Buckinghamshire, the standard methodology currently calculates a housing need of 4,344 new homes a year. Over the plan period, this equates to a need for approximately 91,230 homes.

4.12In addition to the need for new homes, Buckinghamshire must meet the need for new pitches and plots from the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople communities. A revision in the national Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS) in December 2024 amended the definitions of a Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople which altered how we address their needs. During the survey work for the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA), householders were considered if they met the planning definitions. Over the plan period, the identified need is 681 pitches for Gypsy and Travellers and 38 plots for Travelling Showpeople.

Planning for Quality of Place

4.13Whilst Buckinghamshire is generally a prosperous county, it contains some of the most deprived wards in the country in both Aylesbury and High Wycombe. This deprivation is associated with a higher number of health issues and poorer life outcomes.

4.14The Local Plan can help contribute to mitigating existing challenges such as improving access to green space, making places easier to get around, and enhancing the built environment so that people are proud of it and feel safer.

4.15Our Regeneration Strategies for Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Chesham form part of the Buckinghamshire response to these issues and help create welcoming and vibrant public spaces in our main towns. The Local Plan supports high quality development and builds on the unique positive characteristics of our various places, setting out key principles for how future development should take place. This is supported by the Buckinghamshire Design Code. Ultimately, we want to be able to create places which are pleasant to live and work in, and as importantly, which function well, to support positive life outcomes for all.

Planning for Community Health and Wellbeing

4.16The built and natural environment is an important determinant of our residents’ and visitors’ health and wellbeing. A healthy place is described in the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) as one which:

1. Provides opportunities for the community to improve their physical and mental health.
2. Supports community engagement and wellbeing.
3. Meets the needs of children and young people; and
4. Is adaptable to the needs of an increasingly elderly population and those with dementia and other sensory or mobility impairments.

4.17The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) highlights the role of the planning system in supporting health and wellbeing in creating healthy, inclusive and safe places that promote social interaction, are accessible, and that enable and support healthy living through creating opportunities for healthy choices that reduce health inequalities.

4.18Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair, and systematic differences in health that arise from the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These differences affect opportunities for good physical and mental wellbeing and disproportionately impact vulnerable groups, including children, older adults, ethnic minorities, disabled people, those with mental health challenges, and individuals facing social or economic disadvantage such as homelessness or deprivation. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 place a legal duty on local authorities to reduce these inequalities by ensuring that planning and service delivery consider their impact on health. It promotes collaboration between planners and health professionals and positions Directors of Public Health as key advisors in shaping healthier communities.

4.19Although Buckinghamshire generally has better health outcomes than much of England, these benefits are not experienced equally, with poorer outcomes concentrated among vulnerable and deprived groups. The Local Plan plays an important role in addressing this by promoting environments that support both physical and mental health. This includes well-designed spaces that encourage walking and physical activity, access to recreation and green spaces, healthy housing, clean air, and opportunities for social connection, education, and employment. Alongside prevention, it is also essential to ensure sufficient healthcare infrastructure, particularly as some existing facilities face capacity and ageing challenges. Future development must therefore support accessible healthcare services and provide affordable accommodation for key workers to sustain the healthcare workforce.

Planning for Infrastructure

4.20Planning infrastructure refers to the physical aspects of the urban environment that support residential and employment needs, such as transport (including roads, footpaths, cycle lanes and bus provision); community (including education, healthcare places of worship, libraries and community halls); recreation (including parks and sports provision); and utilities (water, sewer, gas, electricity, phone, broadband).

4.21The Local Plan plans for adequate levels of infrastructure in-line with new development and in the most appropriate locations. In collaboration with key infrastructure providers the Baseline Infrastructure Study (BIS) was prepared to understand current and anticipated future infrastructure quality and capacity issues. The study found that:

1. While the capacity of many infrastructure providers is currently coping, there are some that are stretched beyond capacity, such as healthcare, Special Education Needs and Disabilities, and a Household Recycling Centre in the north of Buckinghamshire.
2. Infrastructure providers have different strategies to deal with future capacity issues. Some react to situations that become apparent through frequent monitoring and review, while others take a longer-term strategic approach. For example, planning for early years and childcare tends to be short/medium term (2.5 to 5 years), as factors such as population changes affect the sustainability of providers in the market.

4.22Work on water quality and wastewater (water cycle study) has identified that areas in Buckinghamshire will require upgrades to accommodate increased wastewater pressures from development. There are 73 wastewater treatment works within or serving Buckinghamshire, 41 of which are likely to be close to (including Haddenham), or to have exceeded their flow permit by the end of the Local Plan period (2045) (including Aylesbury, Buckingham, Long Crendon, Princes Risborough, Slough, Steeple Claydon and Winslow). Future development in these locations is likely to require an increase in permit limits and /or upgrades to treatment capacity. This will have implications for delivery lead in time and may delay some sites later in the plan period. Evidence on water quality suggests most receiving watercourses in Buckinghamshire may be sensitive to an increase in wastewater, which potentially impacts their ability to reach or maintain Good Ecological Status, as required under the European Water Framework Directive. There are several poorly performing storm overflows (including Tingewick, Whaddon, Steeple Claydon), and development in these locations require upgrades.

4.23The findings from the Baseline Infrastructure Study, together with other infrastructure studies, and close collaboration with key infrastructure providers has inform the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) for the Local Plan, which sets out what type and level of infrastructure required, together with its location and timeframe, to support future development.

4.24To help identify sustainable locations for future development, which provide proximity to services and facilities, employment and transportation options, a Settlement Review was carried out. This gathered information on the services and facilities found within existing settlements of 100 people and above in Buckinghamshire, as well other information including populations, numbers of employment premises and public transport provision. Using this data, each settlement was placed into one of five tiers reflecting how sustainable that location can be, to inform the Plan’s spatial strategy and to help identify development needs. Settlements identified in the top three tiers are:

Table 1: Settlement Hierarchy for Tiers 1 to 3

Planning for New Jobs

4.25Buckinghamshire has a strong and diverse economy which has delivered sustained growth in recent years, with nationally significant strengths in sectors including high-performance technology, medical technologies, space innovation, advanced engineering, and the creative and digital industries. The Local Plan will support these sectors by providing the land, premises and infrastructure needed to enable businesses to invest, innovate and grow.

4.26The Local Plan will deliver sufficient employment land and premises to support economic growth, with evidence indicating a need for circa 100 hectares of employment land over the plan period. The evidence shows that there will continue to be strong demand for industrial, logistics, research and development, manufacturing and other modern economy uses, with much of the future requirement being for industrial and warehousing floorspace. While changes in working patterns have altered demand for traditional office accommodation, there remains a need for high-quality office, laboratory, innovation and flexible workspace in accessible locations. Existing employment commitments, allocations and vacant premises will contribute towards meeting this requirement, but additional employment land allocations are necessary to provide a choice of sites across Buckinghamshire and to meet the differing locational requirements of businesses. The Local Plan therefore seeks both to protect existing employment areas and to facilitate the delivery of new employment opportunities in sustainable locations.

4.27National policy requires local planning authorities to make provision for the needs of modern economy sectors and to support economic growth and productivity. Buckinghamshire has strong potential to accommodate a range of modern economy uses, including data centres, research and development activities, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, laboratories, and businesses supporting the transition to low-carbon technologies, including electric vehicle battery technologies. The continued modernisation of industrial and distribution premises is also important to meet changing business needs. The Plan supports investment in these sectors by enabling the delivery, renewal and intensification of employment premises and infrastructure that can respond to technological innovation and evolving market requirements, alongside the provision of new employment locations capable of meeting future business needs.

Planning for Town Centres

4.28Buckinghamshire has two town centres of regional importance - Aylesbury and High Wycombe (see retail hierarchy). These centres attract visitors from a broad catchment, and we need to ensure they remain vibrant centres that people choose to visit. This means that we need to ensure that there is an appropriate range of shopping and leisure facilities. There is a range of smaller centres in towns and villages throughout Buckinghamshire that serve smaller catchments and allow people to meet their day-to-day needs. The Local Plan identifies a requirement for 59,000 sqm of floorspace for retail, food / beverage and leisure / cultural uses by 2035. Initially the plan focuses on bringing vacant units in existing centres back into use and through mixed use allocations in our town centres. Reducing the level of vacancies in our centres to 10% will accommodate 14,300 sqm of floorspace, the Council’s regeneration team considers that some of this gap has been filled already through the occupation of vacant units. In the medium to longer term the majority of the additional floorspace is associated with population growth and so, allocations for these uses as part of large-scale mixed-use allocations are proposed to accommodate projected capacity.

4.29The Council has an adopted Regeneration Framework with three sub-strategies for Aylesbury, Chesham and High Wycombe. This framework highlights the potential of our towns and villages and in the case of the three sub-strategies sets out visions and highlights key opportunities in our three largest towns. The Local Plan supports the delivery of these ambitions.

Planning for Transport, Physical and Digital Connectivity

4.30Buckinghamshire is served by major strategic road corridors, including sections of the M25, M4, and M40, alongside a network of A-roads connecting its main towns and neighbouring areas. However, modelling indicates that planned development will significantly increase traffic, particularly in Aylesbury and High Wycombe. Peak-time delays are expected to worsen, especially in the south during morning periods and around Aylesbury and surrounding areas in the evening. As many A-roads are already operating near capacity, future growth will need to carefully consider transport impacts and the ability to mitigate congestion.

4.31Rail connectivity in Buckinghamshire is supported by key corridors such as the Chiltern Line, West Coast Main Line, and Great Western Main Line, including Crossrail. Despite this, access to rail services is uneven, with notable gaps between certain towns. Infrastructure constraints, funding limitations, and the need to balance long- and short-distance services affect provision. While East West Rail is under construction and will improve connectivity in the north, HS2—also under construction—passes through the county without stopping, creating challenges related to severance.

4.32Public transport provision varies significantly across the county. Bus networks are relatively well developed in larger urban areas like High Wycombe, Aylesbury, and Amersham, but services between towns and in rural villages are often infrequent or absent. Low demand in rural areas makes it difficult to sustain viable services. The Bus Service Improvement Plan seeks to address this by enhancing networks and requiring new development to support or provide additional services, emphasising the need for a coordinated, multimodal transport approach in the Local Plan.

4.33As a predominantly rural county, many residents rely on private cars due to limited alternatives, contributing to high carbon emissions and congestion. While the transition to electric vehicles may reduce air pollution, it will not resolve wider issues such as traffic levels, parking demand, or health impacts of car dependency. The Local Transport Plan (LTP5) aims to deliver a more balanced transport system by promoting active travel and public transport, particularly in locations with better access to services. The location of new development is critical, with growth in larger towns offering greater potential to minimise additional traffic and support sustainable travel patterns.

4.34Digital connectivity is also an essential component of Buckinghamshire’s infrastructure network and economic competitiveness. Reliable high-speed broadband, mobile coverage and next-generation digital infrastructure support businesses, home working, access to services, education and innovation. While much of Buckinghamshire benefits from good digital connectivity, coverage can be more limited in some rural areas. The Local Plan will support the delivery and upgrading of digital infrastructure, including full-fibre broadband, mobile networks and emerging technologies, to ensure that residents and businesses across Buckinghamshire can participate fully in the digital economy and reduce the need to travel for some activities.