Chiltern & S Bucks Local Plan Withdrawn

On Tuesday 13th October, BNG noted that Buckinghamshire Council published a Press Release announcing that at the next Council Meeting on 21 October 2020, the Council will approve a proposal to withdraw the draft Chiltern & South Bucks Local Plan.

BNG take no pleasure in seeing over five years of work abandoned at ratepayer expense but BNG have long opposed the draft Local Plan which was deeply flawed and given the independent Inspector’s criticism questioning the legal compliance of the Plan which BNG had itself alerted the Council to as far back as 2016, this is the only practical course of action for the Council.  Accordingly, BNG welcome this proposal to finally consign this deeply flawed Local Plan to the rubbish bin. 

As the Plan contained proposals to remove significant areas of Green Belt land and to allocate these areas for development, including land to the North-East of Chesham near Lye Green for between 500 and 900 homes plus a gypsy/traveller site, this news represents the removal of that immediate threat.  The Council have further announced that it is their intention to now commence work on a new county wide Local Plan which itself may take several years to prepare.   

BNG director, Phillip Plato MRICS said “This news is most welcome and represents a significant victory for the Local Community who have understandably been very concerned about these protracted proposals.  Whilst the land may still be under threat in any new iteration of the next Local Plan, this campaign is therefore not yet finished and BNG will continue to take all the action it can to protect Green Belt around Chesham. “ He also thanked the many hundreds of local people who have supported BNG and donated money to its legal fundraising efforts.​