Buckinghamshire Council is inviting residents and organisations to have their final say on the draft Local Plan. The plan sets out how the county could accommodate around 91,000 homes required under national planning policy. While the council does not set the housing requirement, it is legally responsible for planning how it is delivered.

The draft Local Plan for Cuddington retains the allocation of housing at Dadbrook that is included in the existing Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) and referred to in the Cuddington Neighbourhood Plan (NP). However, the site has been expanded to include the existing farm buildings (which would need to be removed), and the capacity of the site has been increased from a minimum of 15 to 70 homes.

This is the last chance to comment on these proposals. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 6 September.

The purpose of the Reg 19 consultation and details of how to comment are set out on the Buckinghamshire Council website here:

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-building-and-environment/policy-breaches-and-enforcement/buckinghamshire-local-plan/reg-19-consultation/reg-19-faqs/#making-a-representation

The Parish Council meet on Friday 14th August to agree any response.  The meeting starts at the early time of 6pm and will be held in public.  All welcome.

Residents are being asked for their views on Buckinghamshire Council's approach to future development in the county, in light of a significant increase in the number of new homes central government says must be built here.

The Council has launched a consultation on its draft Local Plan for Buckinghamshire. This is something that all councils are expected to have in place; the Local Plan sets out the strategy for meeting Buckinghamshire’s future housing and employment requirement through to the year 2045. Following consultation feedback and the completion of a technical evidence base, the final Plan, due next year, will outline what infrastructure is needed to support growth, whilst also protecting the county’s most valued environments. Not having a Local Plan leaves Buckinghamshire vulnerable to speculative and unplanned developments.

The draft of the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire that residents are being asked to comment on will have to accommodate a huge increased level of housing to meet a new national target set by central government of 95,000 new homes and represents a 43% increase on what the council had previously been required to plan for. The council has therefore prepared a plan that reflects these higher growth numbers and is asking for views to help shape the final version in time for the submission deadline of December 2026 to central government.

Have your Say (consultantion ends on Wednesday 29^th October 2025 at 23.59).

• You can view the draft Local Plan and give your views here https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/draft-local-plan
• The Local Plan consultation focuses on the approaches to the spatial strategy for meeting the housing and employment requirements along with development management policies on topics such as the natural environment, infrastructure, housing and employment

A virtual exhibition room has been produced which is available to here

Cuddington Parish Council discussed the Draft Local its meeting in September (please click here and scroll down to Item 7).  The Parish Council will finalise its response at the October meeting on Wednesday 22^nd October at 7pm in the Bernard Hall.  All welcome.

Buckinghamshire Council is launching consultation on its draft Buckinghamshire Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and wants to hear your views.  The Buckinghamshire LCWIP suggests a future network of new and improved connections for walking, cycling and wheeling between towns and villages across Buckinghamshire.

The Buckinghamshire LCWIP has been informed by data analysis and considered different destinations including employment, education, public transport, local facilities, visitor attractions and neighbouring authority areas.  Buckinghamshire Council have also engaged with local members and Community Boards to help identify the priorities that are included in the LCWIP, which are shown as early concept ‘corridors’ that will be investigated further.

Public consultation is until 13th October 2024.  The consultation is accessible here www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/LCWIP, with the option to respond via online survey, printed survey, email or post.  Details of drop-in events happening during the consultation period will also be confirmed in due course.

News from Buckinghamshire Council

Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet has  approved the draft budget plan for the financial year 2023-24, pending a final decision by full Council at a meeting next week. (Wednesday 22 February).

The Cabinet considered the overall income and spending plans for 2023/24, which cover how the council will raise enough money to cover the costs of providing its essential services such as social care, as well as how it will pay for big projects like improvements to roads and schools, as well as further investment in waste services, environmental projects and tackling homelessness.

High inflation and added demand mean that, in spite of ongoing savings from becoming a unitary authority, the council needs to find an extra £63 million to cover its costs for the coming year. Like most councils with responsibility for social care, it means that, to raise enough money and to present a balanced budget, the Cabinet has agreed to put forward to Council a 2.99% rise in the base rate of council tax and a plan to take up the Government’s proposal for a Social Care Precept of 2%, meaning a total rise of 4.99% in bills.

This equates to a rise in council tax of £1.61 per week for the average home (Band D) in Buckinghamshire.

Speaking after today’s meeting, Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, said:

“I first want to highlight that this budget has been shaped by residents and fully scrutinised by a cross-party group of councillors. Our spending proposals were informed by responses we had to our ‘Money Matters’ budget consultation at the end of last year, and once the plans were shaped, they’ve been heavily reviewed by scrutiny committee, and we’ve considered that feedback during today’s meeting.

It means we’ve arrived at a budget to put forward next week for a final decision at Council, and this year has probably been the most challenging on record in which to make these choices. Global and political turbulence, high inflation and cost of living pressures are impacting us all and as an organisation running public services, we are not immune to rising prices, yet we have to protect our residents from swallowing all that inflationary pressure. However, as almost all of our income (93%) now comes from council tax and business rates, with the rise in the costs of providing our services, it means we’ve had to propose a further rise in council tax this year.  

I do not take this lightly and want to urge any household concerned with meeting their costs to contact our council tax team direct and if needed, to also take a look at the Cost of Living advice on our webpages. You can also look to spread council tax payments over the full twelve months so as to lower the monthly cost.

Amidst such a difficult context, with some councils even declaring bankruptcy, I’m pleased that Buckinghamshire Council remains financially prudent. My biggest priority of all is to continue to be a value for money authority – vital in light of the hardship we know many people are experiencing. I’m pleased we are still able to dedicate spend on the services and projects our residents tell us are most important to them. All members of the council will make a final decision on this budget next week.”

Buckinghamshire Council has launched an important survey about the future of Buckinghamshire.  It is a questionnaire survey for the new Local Plan for Buckinghamshire.  Bucks Council want to hear your views about living and working in Buckinghamshire, what problems and issues you may face, and what your needs are in the future.  The Council wants to know what matters most to you.

You can fill out the survey questionnaire online on Your Voice Bucks: https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/local-plan-2021.  The survey closes at midnight on Friday 11th February 2022.

There are other ways to comment:

A pdf of the questionnaire survey has been added to the website: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/local-plan-for-bucks.

This can be downloaded and then emailed or posted to the Planning Policy Team.

• The email address is planningpolicyteam.bc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• The postal address is Planning Policy Team, Buckinghamshire Council, Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 1BB

Buckinghamshire Council has responded to the government’s “Planning for the Future” consultation and has asked government to think again on changes that could have a negative impact on Buckinghamshire residents.

Whilst welcoming some of the proposed changes, it believes the planning reforms would:

• Reduce local democratic accountability – the proposals in the White Paper seek to over-centralise and standardise decision making at the expense of local accountability and democracy.
• Reduce engagement in Local Plans – the proposals would reduce the opportunity for public engagement in the drafting of policies and it will only become clear what has been permitted later on in the process when their involvement will be too late.
• Impose inflated housing targets – the council has expressed grave concerns about how the Government’s methodology is derived, again raising significant issues of reducing local democratic accountability in the planning process.
• Reduce properly funded affordable housing – the government proposes that local authorities borrow money in order to forward fund affordable housing.  The council believes this to be an ill-considered solution. Tax payers would effectively be subsidising loans to developers and landowners.  The Council would also not support reducing the number of development sites that are required to provide for affordable housing – particularly as small developments play such an important role in Buckinghamshire’s rural areas.
• Put a burden on council resources – developers should fund the full cost of development – the council opposes the proposed delay in payment of the infrastructure levy as set out in the White Paper.  Upfront payment is essential if the infrastructure to support development is to be in place prior to occupation.
• Improve design, planning enforcement and local authority cooperation with other public bodies – the council welcomes the emphasis on design, greater penalties for people who break planning rules and the abolition of the ludicrous ‘duty to cooperate’.

Councillor Warren Whyte, Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement said: “The Council meticulously scrutinised the government’s consultation paper and our response not only raises some very important points with the government but also provides alternative suggestions that we feel would benefit our residents and the planning process overall.  We hope our response highlights our areas of concern and will assist the government to develop a planning system for the future that is democratic, fair and simple to use and encourages good quality, sustainable development that enhances our area.”

To read the full response, download the Buckinghamshire Council response to the Planning for the Future consultation.

With just over eight months until the new Buckinghamshire Council opens its doors for business, politicians from across the five current councils will be holding a special debate to begin the task of shaping the key priorities for the new authority’s ‘to do’ list.

Questions and comments can be submitted in advance or ‘live’ during the meeting itself via the new Buckinghamshire Council Twitter site – @DeliveringBucks, using the #bucksdebate, or alternatively questions can be submitted via email to unitarycomms@buckscc.gov.uk

The event, taking place from 11.30am on Thursday 25th July at Aylesbury Vale District Council’s Gateway offices, is specially arranged so that residents, businesses and local organisations can get involved.  They can submit their own views and questions about the future of all council services either in advance or on-the-day, ‘live’ into the meeting.

As well as a series of presentations from key speakers, all questions and comments will be displayed live on three giant screens during the meeting to help stimulate discussion and ensure a quality debate.  The meeting will also be webcast live as it happens.

Leader of the Shadow Executive, Martin Tett, explains why involving as many people as possible is so important.  “With five councils coming together to form the new Buckinghamshire Council, we have a perfect opportunity to begin to shape what the key public service priorities should be from next April.

“Clearly, everyone has views about council services, after all, they touch virtually every part of our lives and we all pay for them through our council tax.  And that’s exactly why we want people to get involved.  The County Council has run this type of interactive format for a number of years now and we know from experience that the debate really benefits from this type of involvement and, of course, it’s good for democracy too.”

Deputy Leader of the Shadow Executive, Katrina Wood, echoed Martin Tett’s call to get involved.  “It’s really important that people can have their say, particularly when five councils amalgamate and can plan one single agenda,” she said.

“So, whether it’s education, social care, the state of the roads, waste and refuse, our environment, local planning, growth or housing or anything else we collectively provide, then please get your questions and comments in – they will be a very welcome addition to this key debate.”

Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) is seeking the opinions of residents on the county's road system in a new online survey that will provide information that will inform the council's strategic highways planning, here:

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BCCtransportsurvey2019

This online survey is open to all residents, and is in addition to the annual National Highways and Transportation (NHT) survey which was sent to 3,300 randomly selected households in Buckinghamshire during June.

Through this survey, BCC will be taking a deeper look at two of the key NHT questions which concern ‘Road Condition’ and ‘Road Congestion’.  The opinions collected through this survey will be used to supplement the information obtained via the NHT.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transportation Mark Shaw said: “When we look at the combined results of these two surveys, we can really start to build a picture of how the public views and rates our services.  This will assist both Buckinghamshire County Council with transport planning and Transport for Buckinghamshire – the strategic highway maintenance arm of the organisation – with advising us on where the roads budget is best spent each year.

“We really value the views of our residents, and this additional questionnaire will give us a better understanding of any issues respondents are experiencing with road condition and road congestion.”

The survey will remain open to the residents of Buckinghamshire until 30 September 2019.  It takes under five minutes to complete and is open to all residents even if they have responded to the initial NHT survey received last month.  The results will be made available on the BCC website in the autumn this year.

A special Cabinet meeting has formally agreed the County Council’s consent to the making of all the necessary legal regulations by the Government to create a single new unitary council for Buckinghamshire, on the basis of further details provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In a letter to all five councils sent on 7th January, Secretary of State, James Brokenshire sets out the key building blocks for the new ‘Buckinghamshire Council’ contained in the draft legislation. They include:

  - the name of the new council will be ‘Buckinghamshire Council’ and it will have 147 councillors

  - elections for the new council will take place in May 2020

  - a temporary ‘shadow’ authority will be formed, with all current county and district councillors having a seat on this body; the shadow authority will set the 2020/21 council tax and budget.  Leadership will be provided by a 17-seat shadow executive with the Leader of the County Council as its chairman

  - an implementation team, led by the County Council Chief Executive and with a district Chief Executive as deputy, will be established to manage the smooth transfer of services and staff to the new Council.

Providing at least one of the five councils involved gives its consent, the regulations that allow the Secretary of State to accept a proposal for change can be laid before Parliament on 14 January 2019; the draft legislation that sets out the detail of how this will take place will then be laid before Parliament a few weeks later and will come into force later in the Spring, to allow the new unitary council to be up and running by April 2020.

Speaking after the meeting, County Council Leader Martin Tett said:

“This is an important step forward in the process to the creation of a new council for Buckinghamshire.  Whilst these legal processes have to take place I want to remind everyone that this is absolutely about residents – improving services for the people we are elected to serve.  This must not be about us.  It’s about creating a simpler, better value, and more local council for residents, businesses  and partners and being able to speak with a stronger single voice nationally; a council fit for the future.

“Timing to get the new council up and running is tight, so I’m asking the District Councils to work with us on this for our residents and our staff to deliver the brand new Council that Buckinghamshire deserves and make the most of the opportunities for all from this historic change.”

A brand new county-wide unitary council will be established in Buckinghamshire, the Government has confirmed.

The announcement by Secretary of State James Brokenshire has been hailed as a “truly historic day” by County Council leader Martin Tett.

The new council, which will replace the county council and four districts, will be simpler, better value and more local to Buckinghamshire communities than the current two-tier system, ultimately moving to a more sustainable future for the county.

Services which complement one another but are currently divided between the district and county councils such as bin collections, waste disposal, planning and roads, would be brought together under the single unitary council, resulting in more efficient, joined-up services for residents.

The Secretary of State said in his statement: “Having assessed both proposals against the criteria that we announced to the House on 28 February 2017 (PQ 65271), I have concluded that whilst both proposals meet the criterion for a “good deal of local support”, only the proposal for a single unitary council satisfies the criteria for “improving local government” and for “being a credible geography” and that in any event the proposal for a single unitary council is better able to meet the criteria overall.

“Accordingly, I am today announcing that I have decided to implement, subject to Parliamentary approval, the locally-led proposal to replace the existing five councils across Buckinghamshire – the two tier structure of Buckinghamshire County Council and the district councils of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe – by one new single unitary district council, and that I have decided not to implement the proposal for two new unitary councils.”

View the Secretary of State’s full statement at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-11-01/HCWS1058/ .

Bucks Waste Partnership has launched a new S.C.R.A.P. campaign to rid the County of dumpers who think nothing of ruining Buckinghamshire’s beautiful countryside.

The message behind the campaign is that if it’s your rubbish, it’s your responsibility to dispose of it properly and legally.  Otherwise dumpers face the possibility of a £400 fixed penalty notice or, if court action is taken, typically fines of several thousands of pounds or even a custodial sentence.

The S.C.R.A.P. campaign (Suspect, Check, Refuse, Ask and Paperwork – a helpful five-point checklist to help people stay on the right side of the law) also features useful advice for both householders and businesses to thoroughly check anyone who they use to dispose of waste on their behalf.  Failure to do so means people are not complying with Duty of Care requirements and they may get a nasty surprise if their waste is found fly tipped.

You can report fly tipping here: www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/waste-and-recycling/fly-tipping/report-fly-tipping/

Council to consult on ‘realistic’ options to make household recycling centres affordable.

An eight week consultation to hear the public’s views on a series of proposed cost-saving and future growth measures to make the County’s household recycling centres (local tips) affordable for the future is underway.

The ten centres are well used and extremely popular, however, the County Council is having to reduce costs across all its services as funding reductions in the public sector continue to bite.

National figures show that in comparison with other areas, Buckinghamshire has a much higher number of sites serving its population.  In addition, centres currently take certain waste like rubble, soil, plasterboard and car tyres for free where other Councils make a variety of disposal charges.

Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, Bill Chapple OBE said the review was a ‘reluctant but necessary step’.

He said: “We have an extremely tough budget to meet from April 2019 onwards and this means facing up to some difficult decisions.  There definitely needs to be changes, but my overall aim is to retain a service that still works for the majority of people going forward.

“Looking at all the data available, the responses to our user surveys and what other councils do, and bearing in mind the views of residents at four focus groups we held in July, there are some preferred options that we are setting out in the consultation.  Realistically, without these, we’re not going to get anywhere near our financial savings target.

“For example, there is a proposal to permanently close at least one site, with the preferred option being Bledlow.  We are also including other proposals for closing two sites, Bledlow and Burnham, and to bring in selected weekday closures on days when the sites at Burnham, Chesham and Aylesbury (Rabans Lane) are less used.

“We’re also proposing to introduce charging at all sites for specific waste that we don’t legally have to accept for free.  I completely understand that people don’t like being faced with extra charges, however, I have taken into account the fact that less than a third of waste falls into this category, so the charges won’t affect everyone and it also brings us into line with what other councils do.

“Of course, there are other areas where we have genuine choice and that’s where an open and honest consultation is so important.  For example, we’re looking for views on which two weekdays people would prefer Burnham (if this site remains open), Chesham and Aylesbury (Rabans Lane) to be closed, and also what Buckinghamshire residents think about people from outside the county using our recycling centres, which is of course an extra cost to local county taxpayers.”

The Council also plans to extend the operation of reuse shops (currently at Aston Clinton and High Wycombe and run by South Bucks Hospice) so more can be recycled and sold with the money going to charity.

Bill added: “I hope people will see the reasons for the changes I have to bring in and I look forward to hearing views on the areas where there is genuine and open choice.”

The consultation runs until midnight on Monday 22nd October.  Access to the online survey and supporting information is available at www.buckscc.gov.uk/hrc-review.  A series of drop-in events is also planned in local libraries so people can find out more details about the proposals.

This winter’s weather has been tough on Buckinghamshire’s roads – while the heavy snowfall in December was the most remarkable weather event, the worst conditions for roads are actually when the ground temperature fluctuates constantly between just above and just below zero.

Pothole formation is accelerated by this ‘freeze-thaw’ effect, whereby moisture gets into small cracks in the the road surface and expands when it freezes, then thaws out when the temperature rises. This process repeats until the road surface begins to break up and potholes are formed.

County Councillor Mark Shaw, Cabinet Member for Transportation, urges road users in Buckinghamshire to report potholes when they see them:

“Transport for Buckinghamshire will investigate every pothole reported to them, and react on a risk based prioritisation process – put simply, that means the worst ones will be attended to first, as a matter of urgency.  But we’re not mind readers, and the road network is far too vast for us to possibly know where all the potholes are, so we need members of the public to report them to us either using the online form, which only takes a few minutes, or by calling if it’s dangerous or an emergency.  I would ask that everyone be patient while we deal with the fallout of a bad winter – potholes are as inevitable as weather, roads are made of a porous material so that they don’t flood constantly in rain and so when water within the structure freezes, defects will form.”

On average, when there are no severe weather issues, TfB repairs over 4,000 potholes every month.

Pothole FAQ:

• You fixed one pothole, why didn’t you fix the one next to it while you were here?
  Potholes are prioritised according to risk – if they are on very well used roads, they are more of a priority.  Size and depth are also factors.  Resources have to be used responsibly, and cannot be used up fixing a more minor road surface defect when there are more urgent defects needing attention just up the road.
• Why can I only report one pothole online at a time?
  Our online reporting system works on an interactive map, so that each individual defect can be risk assessed and dealt with on a case by case basis.  The map allows for accurate pinpointing, which saves time when it comes to inspections.  There are drop-down menus to allow you to input as much detail, such as size and position, as possible.
• Why do you make temporary repairs that don’t last?
  Temporary repairs, where the pothole is filled in with hot material and made smooth, are often carried out as a safety measure when a permanent repair cannot be carried out at that moment, likely due to the location of the defect.  That is to say, where a larger area of road needs to be cut away to make a full repair, likely requiring a road or lane closure, a temporary or ‘make safe’ repair is an effective way of keeping the road safe in the meantime.
• How do I report a pothole?
  You can report potholes, as well as any other road issue, using the Report It forms on the county council website.  In an emergency, for instance a severe road defect, a flooded road, or a tree in the road, you can always call Transport for Buckinghamshire on 01296 382416 or 486630 (out of hours). The online reporting tool is at www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/report-a-problem/report-a-pothole/