Draft Local Plan Regulation 19 Document

What is the Buckinghamshire Local Plan?

1.1The Buckinghamshire Local Plan sets out the long-term strategy for managing growth and development across Buckinghamshire to 2045. The Plan establishes the spatial vision, strategic objectives, and planning framework for delivering new homes, jobs, infrastructure, and community facilities, whilst protecting and enhancing the county’s natural, historic, and built environment.

1.2The Plan guides how Buckinghamshire grows in a sustainable, coordinated and infrastructure-led manner, helping to address key issues and challenges facing the county, including climate change, housing affordability, infrastructure capacity, economic growth, health and wellbeing, and the protection of valued landscapes such as the Chilterns National Landscape and areas of Green Belt. It seeks to balance the need for development with the protection of Buckinghamshire’s distinctive character, environment, and communities.

1.3Prepared in accordance with national planning policy, including the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the Local Plan identifies allocations for future growth. The policies and proposals within the Plan are informed by national policy, a comprehensive technical evidence base, and ongoing engagement with residents, stakeholders, neighbouring authorities, public bodies, and infrastructure providers. This plan replaces policies within the former adopted district local plans as set out in Appendix C.

1.4The Local Plan also provides the basis for coordinating future infrastructure investment and supporting sustainable communities, ensuring that development is aligned with the delivery of transport, utilities, education, healthcare, and green infrastructure across Buckinghamshire.

Role in Decision-Making

1.5The Buckinghamshire Local Plan forms part of the statutory development plan for Buckinghamshire and is used to guide decisions on planning applications across the county. Planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Local Plan is therefore a key consideration in planning decision-making across Buckinghamshire.

1.6The Local Plan sits alongside neighbourhood plans, minerals and waste planning policies, supplementary planning documents and other relevant strategies prepared by Buckinghamshire Council and its partners. Together, these documents provide a coordinated framework for managing growth and development across the county.

1.7The policies within the Local Plan establish the framework for shaping the location, scale, and design of development, whilst ensuring that growth is supported by the necessary infrastructure, services, and environmental protections. The Plan also supports the delivery of wider Council priorities relating to healthy communities, economic growth, climate resilience, and the protection of Buckinghamshire’s natural and historic environment.

1.8Within the Local Plan sits the Buckinghamshire Design Code and Parking Standards for new Developments. These documents help ensure high standards of design, quality, and sustainability.

1.9The policies within the Plan are intended to work together and planning applications are assessed against all relevant policies, rather than a single policy in isolation. Site allocations establish the principle of development in a particular location but do not override other relevant policies within the Plan. The Plan is supported by a Policies Map as set out in Appendix D.

1.10Development proposals are expected to comply with relevant development management policies, site allocation requirements and supporting guidance, including the Buckinghamshire Design Code and Parking Standards for New Developments. For example, allocated sites may still be required to provide landscape buffers, green and blue infrastructure, biodiversity enhancements, and sustainable drainage measures in accordance with the wider policies of the Plan. Similarly, all development proposals are expected to achieve high standards of design in accordance with the Buckinghamshire Design Code and other relevant policies of the Plan.

1.11This integrated approach helps ensure that development is sustainable, well designed, appropriately located and supported by the necessary infrastructure, whilst protecting and enhancing Buckinghamshire's natural, historic, and built environment.

Structure of the Plan

1.12The Buckinghamshire Local Plan is structured into a series of chapters which together set out the vision, objectives, spatial development strategy, and development management policies for managing future growth and development across the county.

1.13The Plan is organised as follows:

1. Chapter 1 – Introduction:
   Provides an overview of the purpose of the Local Plan, its role in decision-making, the plan-making process, previous engagement, and the supporting evidence base.
2. Chapter 2 – National and Strategic Context:
   Sets out the national planning policy framework and wider strategic context, including the National Planning Policy Framework and key cross-boundary considerations.
3. Chapter 3 – Spatial Portrait and Key Issues:
   Provides a spatial portrait of the county, including its communities, economy, environment, infrastructure, and key challenges, which together inform the overall direction of the Plan.
4. Chapter 4 – Vision and Strategic Objectives:
   Establishes the long-term vision and strategic objectives for Buckinghamshire, setting out the priorities for growth and development to 2045.
5. Chapter 5 – Spatial Strategy and strategic policies:
   Sets out the overall strategy for accommodating development requirements across Buckinghamshire, including the distribution of development and the broad locations where future development is directed.
6. Chapter 6 –Site Allocations:
   Allocations for housing, employment, retail, gypsy and traveller provision and mixed-use development.
7. Chapter 7 - Development Management Policies:
   Provides detailed policies to guide day-to-day decisions on planning applications.
8. Appendices:
   These include the monitoring framework, housing and employment trajectories, Buckinghamshire Design Code, Buckinghamshire Parking Standards for New Developments, and the Policies Map.

1.14Together, these chapters provide a comprehensive framework for shaping the future growth and development of Buckinghamshire. The Plan is supported by a range of maps, diagrams and technical evidence, and its implementation and effectiveness are monitored through the monitoring framework throughout the plan period to ensure that development is delivered in a sustainable, coordinated, and effective manner.

Why a New Local Plan is Needed

1.15Buckinghamshire is facing a range of significant opportunities and challenges which require a coordinated, long-term planning approach. On 1 April 2020, the former district council areas of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe, together with Buckinghamshire County Council, were brought together to form Buckinghamshire Council as a single unitary authority. This new Local Plan is the first Local Plan to provide the basis for establishing a single county-wide planning framework, bringing together the former district areas under a consistent and comprehensive strategy for managing future growth.

1.16Previous local plans prepared by the former district councils are at different stages in their plan periods and are becoming increasingly out-of-date. Since their adoption, there have been substantial changes to national planning policy, legislation, and guidance, including updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), revisions to the standard method for assessing housing need, and an increased national focus on climate change, biodiversity recovery, infrastructure delivery and sustainable development.

1.17Buckinghamshire also faces growing pressures relating to housing affordability, infrastructure capacity, population growth, and economic change. National policy identifies a housing need of approximately 4,344 dwellings per year, highlighting the scale of growth that the county needs to accommodate over the plan period, which is up to the end of March 2045.

1.18At the same time, the county contains nationally important environmental and landscape assets, including the Chilterns National Landscape, areas of Green Belt, ancient woodland, chalk streams, and a rich historic environment, all of which require careful management, enhancement, and protection.

1.19The new Local Plan provides a coordinated framework for planning positively for Buckinghamshire’s future growth in a sustainable and infrastructure-led way.

1.20The Plan also enables Buckinghamshire to make the most of its unique assets and strengths to deliver positive social, economic, environmental and health outcomes for existing and future communities. It helps create attractive, resilient, and well-connected places where people can live, work and travel sustainably, supporting long-term prosperity.

1.21The Local Plan also provides greater certainty for residents, businesses, infrastructure providers, developers, and local communities by establishing a clear and consistent framework for the scale, location and form of future development.

Stage of Plan Preparation

1.22The Buckinghamshire Local Plan has been prepared in accordance with national planning legislation and guidance. Plan preparation has taken place over several stages, including evidence gathering, public consultation, policy development, and independent examination. This stage of plan preparation corresponds to Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, which involves consultation on the scope and content of the Plan at an early stage.

1.23Buckinghamshire Council has undertaken a range of engagement and consultation activities to inform the vision, strategic objectives, spatial strategy, and planning policies within the Plan. Early engagement was carried out between 2021 and 2022 through a questionnaire survey which sought views on the key issues, opportunities and challenges facing Buckinghamshire. This was followed by consultation on the draft vision and objectives for the Local Plan and Local Transport Plan in 2023. Feedback from these stages has helped shape the direction and priorities of the Plan.

1.24The Council has also undertaken several ‘Call for Sites’ exercises alongside extensive evidence gathering to understand future housing, employment, infrastructure and environmental needs. Supporting evidence includes studies relating to housing and employment land suitability, availability and achievability, transport and infrastructure, Green Belt, landscape, heritage, flood risk, sustainability and environmental impacts.

1.25The Local Plan has been informed by engagement with residents, businesses, developers, infrastructure providers, neighbouring authorities, town and parish councils, statutory consultees and other stakeholders. This has helped ensure that the Plan is evidence-led, positively prepared and responsive to local issues and opportunities across Buckinghamshire.

1.26Buckinghamshire Council has worked collaboratively with neighbouring authorities, infrastructure providers and other prescribed bodies to address strategic cross-boundary matters. This cooperation has helped ensure that strategic priorities, including housing, transport, infrastructure and environmental considerations, are appropriately coordinated and reflected within the Plan. Further details are set out in supporting evidence, including Statements of Common Ground.

1.27Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan took place in September and October 2025. This was followed by further plan preparation, consultation and evidence gathering, including the publication of the Regulation 19 version of the Plan, and consultation between July and September 2026. The Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination in December 2026 and was subsequently adopted following examination.

1.28The Plan is monitored and reviewed periodically to ensure it remains effective, up-to-date and responsive to changes in national policy, local circumstances and development needs.

Previous Engagement

1.29Engagement and consultation have played a central role in the preparation of the Buckinghamshire Local Plan. Buckinghamshire Council has undertaken a wide range of activities with residents, businesses, landowners, developers, infrastructure providers, town and parish councils, neighbouring authorities, statutory consultees and other stakeholders to inform the development of the Plan.

1.30Key stages of engagement include:

1. ‘Attitudes Survey’ Early engagement (2021–2022):
   A questionnaire survey was undertaken to gather views on the key issues, opportunities and challenges facing Buckinghamshire. This identified a range of priorities and issues to be addressed through the Local Plan.
2. Vision and Objectives consultation (2023):
   Consultation on the draft vision and objectives for the Local Plan and Local Transport Plan was carried out, helping to shape the spatial direction, priorities and strategic aims of the Plan.
3. Call for Sites exercises (2021-2025):
   Five series of ‘Call for Sites’ exercises were undertaken, including engagement on brownfield land and wider development opportunities including greenfield sites and specifically for gypsy and traveller pitches across Buckinghamshire. These exercises identified potential sites for housing, employment and mixed-use development and informed the Council’s evidence base and site assessment process.
4. Draft Local Plan – Regulation 18 (2025):
   This Draft Local Plan consulted on two parts. Part A set out the development needs for housing, employment and gypsy and travellers, together with strategic approaches for how those needs can be met. Part B had a series of development management policies.
5. Site engagement exercise with landowners, infrastructure providers and town and parish councils – under Regulation 18 (2026):
   The Buckinghamshire Local Plan Sites Engagement exercise, undertaken in spring 2026, was an evidence-gathering exercise designed to seek feedback on potential development sites and test information relating to their suitability, availability, deliverability, constraints and infrastructure requirements.

Evidence Base

1.31The Buckinghamshire Local Plan is supported by a comprehensive and proportionate evidence base, which has informed the preparation of the Plan’s vision, objectives, spatial strategy and planning policies. The evidence base ensures that the Plan is robust, justified and informed by up-to-date information relating to Buckinghamshire’s environmental, social and economic characteristics, needs and opportunities.

1.32A wide range of technical studies, assessments and supporting documents have been prepared throughout the plan-making process. These include evidence relating to housing and employment needs, economic growth, transport and infrastructure capacity, environmental constraints, climate change, sustainability, health and wellbeing and design.

1.33The Council has also undertaken a Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA), and New and Expanded Settlement Study (NESS) to support site allocations to meet development needs across Buckinghamshire. The HELAA and NESS form an important part of the evidence base by assessing the suitability, availability and achievability of sites promoted through the plan-making process.

1.34Key evidence supporting the Local Plan includes:

1. Strategic and appraisal evidence:
   Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment, Equality Impact Assessment and Health Impact Assessment
2. Housing evidence:
   Local Housing Needs Assessment, Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA), New and Expanded Settlement Study, Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment and Settlement Review.
3. Economic evidence:

   Land Review and Retail Study and the Modern Economy Study

4. Transport and infrastructure evidence:

   Baseline Transport Study and Strategic Transport modelling, Baseline Infrastructure Studies and Infrastructure Delivery Plan, Community Facilities Study and Sports Playing Pitch Strategy

5. Environmental evidence:

   Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 1 and 2, Sequential Flood Risk Assessment, Water Cycle Study 1 and 2, Renewable Energy Assessment, Net Zero Carbon Study

1.35A full schedule of evidence base documents is available on the Council’s website. Together, these documents provide an evidence-led basis for planning positively for Buckinghamshire’s future growth and development.