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LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION

Buckinghamshire Local Plan – Consultation 2026

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What is happening with planning in Buckinghamshire?

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Buckinghamshire Council is developing a new Local Plan for the whole county. This is in response to two significant events:

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  1. In May 2020 Buckinghamshire Council was formed as a unitary council combining all the District Councils and the County Council. Each Council had its own Local Plan, and these needed to be combined into an up-to-date Plan for the whole unitary area (excluding Milton Keynes which is its own unitary council).

  2. The Government is implementing a policy to build a million new homes to address what it perceives to be a lack of housing in the nation as a whole. As a result, it has required Buckinghamshire Council to develop a plan to build an additional 91,000 homes in the county, including those which were already in the various existing Local Plans.

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How this affects Stoke Mandeville Parish

As you will know, there is already housing allocated and outline planning permission granted for thousands of new homes in the Parish in the AGT1 and AGT2 areas, and four new estates have already been built since the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan was adopted.

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There is also a planning application refusal going to Appeal in October for the fields south of Station Road, between Wendover Road and Risborough Road – this is in an area which was not allocated for housing in the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan and which has already been refused planning consent at application and at Appeal.

                             

Unfortunately, the pressure from Government to build so many more homes in the county means that, in this draft Local Plan, Buckinghamshire Council has now allocated many more areas in the Parish for housing in spite of the fact that we now have an adopted Neighbourhood Plan which specifically precludes building outside the Settlement Boundary, as defined in the Settlement Boundary Policy (Policy GI3) in the Stoke Mandeville Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan here.

              

For more information on where housing has been allocated, and the Plan’s other Policies which may affect our Parish, please see the draft Local Plan on this page:

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-building-and-environment/policy-breaches-and-enforcement/buckinghamshire-local-plan/reg-19-consultation/#draft-local-plan-publication-version-regulation-19-consultation-period.

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What you can do to express your views

First, read the Local Plan. We have pulled out some links to key sections as it is a huge document:

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Second, prepare to submit your comments or objections by 6th September 2026. You should do this as an individual resident, but you may want to send the Parish Council your response via email so that we can ensure we cover all points in our official response.

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Learn more and contribute to our response

The Parish Council is holding two Local Plan consultations in August as follows:

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What the MPs have to say

“I have always made protecting our countryside and rural identity my number one priority. Developing housing and other commercial interests on our farmland, green fields and natural beauty is just not acceptable. So I encourage everyone to have their say in the local plan consultation and robustly challenge the excessive housing numbers currently being proposed for Stoke Mandeville. These proposals are just not sustainable. The identity of the village must be maintained, not destroyed.”

Greg Smith MP

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What if you cannot make either of the meetings

If you can’t make either of the consultations but want to share your views with the Parish Council for consideration in our official response, please email the Chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Jon Theobald, on jon.theobald@stokemandeville-pc.gov.uk by 27th August 2026.

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