Buckinghamshire Council is advancing work on a new Local Plan that will provide a framework for how the county grows and develops over the next twenty years.
The emerging plan, a legal requirement – which must demonstrate how Buckinghamshire can accommodate 95,000 new homes to meet Government targets - will set out how it meets future needs for housing, the economy, community facilities and essential infrastructure, while also protecting the county’s precious natural and historic environment.
Steven Broadbent, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council said: “Developing a plan that meets the housing target for Buckinghamshire puts real pressure on our county as 95,000 new homes is 43% higher than requirements under the previous Government’s needs-based methodology. The impact of such development on Buckinghamshire is immense but doing nothing is not an option as having an up-to-date plan is essential to prevent speculative development and ensure infrastructure is properly planned.
“It is a major concern is that these imposed housing numbers do not come with any Government funding for the infrastructure that would be needed to support such growth. While developers will contribute to some of the required investment, this will cover only a fraction of the multibillion pound costs associated with new roads, transport links, schools, healthcare provision, sewerage systems and energy infrastructure. Central Government will need to step up and plug the gaps if their development targets are to be met.
“The Council remains committed to doing all it can to protect our precious Green Belt and AONB (National Landscapes) and we are adopting a ‘brownfield before greenfield’ approach outside of the Green Belt. In addition, our town centres will have to develop and grow, using current Government methodologies for density, placing even more reliance on existing infrastructure and exacerbating the need for further funding and investment.
To date, over 1,300 residents and stakeholders have taken part in the plan making process through formal consultation, and a detailed technical assessment of potential development sites has been completed. Of the 1,400 sites identified across Buckinghamshire, approximately 400 are now being published for further engagement and assessment. This next stage of work involves assessing the availability, suitability and viability of these sites with landowners and infrastructure providers.
No decisions on site allocations will be made until this full technical assessment has been completed.
The Council will publish the draft Local Plan this summer for further public consultation. Residents, landowners, infrastructure providers and other partners who would like to provide input in this part of the plan-making process can participate in the council’s site survey https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/sites-survey before 11.59pm on 16 March 2026.
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