The big news!
The big news!
The Buckingham Neighbourhood Development Plan has successfully finished its “examination” period. The independent Examiner has recommended the Plan be made with a few minor modifications. There was a lot he liked about our plan.
What’s Next?
The next stage is for the Plan to go to referendum organised by Buckinghamshire Council. Neighbourhood Development Plans are the only planning document which require approval for the local community ie you! This is likely to happen later in the autumn so watch out for more info coming soon.
The emerging Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan
Meanwhile Buckinghamshire Council’s emerging Local Plan for the whole of Buckinghamshire [the other half of the Development Plan that covers Buckingham] is out for its first consultation. The new Neighbourhood Plan delivers much of the detail for Buckingham. If successful at Referendum, the Neighbourhood Development Plan would be in use very soon afterwards
Talking Points:
- Buckingham is a very attractive prospect for developers – not least with the new railway station at Winslow.
- Speculative development means that lots of new homes will be built but there may be very little infrastructure such as schools, to accompany them.
- Central government policy is for more homes to built, but also that development should be plan-led. A new Neighbourhood Development Plan would provide that clear plan-led direction from the people of Buckingham.
- The Town Council, in deciding to make a new plan to cover Buckingham until 2040, is absolutely certain that to do nothing and not allocate new sites would not mean that there was no further development in Buckingham. Rather it would mean a return to speculative development which had been a regular feature prior to the original 2015 Plan.
- The new Neighbourhood Development Plan means that the community has a say in where new homes will go, rather than just for any developer to decide. It seeks necessary infrastructure to accompany that development. It provides a design guide that carries legal weight.
- When the Community Infrastructure Levy [CIL] is applied to Buckingham it will mean that the Town Council will also receive 25% of that levy to spend on infrastructure projects directly.
- Not having a plan does not mean that there will be no further development – it means that residents will have little say in where it goes, what infrastructure will be provided and what the houses and the estate will look like. Ultimately, it could result in unlimited development. It is important to understand what having no new plan will actually mean.
- If there is no Neighbourhood Plan when CIL is applied, the Town Council will receive only 15% of the levy and that would be capped at £100 [indexed figure] per household.
The Quick Summary:
| Neighbourhood Plan | No Neighbourhood Plan |
| Legal status as part of Development Plan | Rely on Local Plan |
| Decide on where homes will go | Speculative Developers decide |
| Require necessary infrastructure | Potential for minimal infrastructure |
| Unique Design Guide that carries legal weight | Developer’s Generic Design |
| 25% of CIL to Town Council to spend on local infrastructure | 15% capped per house to Town Council to spend on local infrastructure |
Finally
Thank you again to all the Buckingham residents who took part in the consultation events in 2024 and earlier this year. This is your Plan.
The Examiners’ Report: https://media.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/documents/Buckingham_Neighbourhood_Development_Plan_-_Examiners_Report.pdf