A Regulation 18 consultation on the Milton Keynes New City Plan to 2050 closed at the beginning of October 2024. This consultation set out the Council’s intention to deliver between 53,000 and 63,00 dwellings over the plan period and identified locations for growth, including significant growth (11,000 dwellings) in the City Centre.
As an Authority that has consistently and pro-actively planned for growth to meet its housing needs, MKCC will not see any real direct impacts resultant from the draft National Planning Policy Framework (dNPPF). However, significant swathes of Green Belt wash over the southern parts of the Buckinghamshire Council Authority area, resulting in growth being directed towards the edge of Milton Keynes (i.e. the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan 2013 - 2033). It is anticipated that there will be increased pressure to locate growth in this location due to the significant housing need uplift (2,912 dwellings pa to 4,122 dwellings pa) for Buckinghamshire Council resultant from proposed changes to the Local Housing Need Standard Method (LHNSM) under the dNPPF, as well as more generally increasing the need for land to be released from the Green Belt across Buckinghamshire.
Leaders of the Authority have been vocal in their objections to the significant increase in housing numbers triggered by changes to the LHNSM, as well as on Grey Belt, 5YHLS and infrastructure funding, and formally objected as part of the consultation on the dNPPF.
Buckinghamshire Council are within the early stages of plan-making to establish the first Local Plan for Buckinghamshire (LP4B), following unification in 2020. A Call for Sites was undertaken in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and a wider call for sites will remain open until 30th June 2025. A consultation focused on seven Emerging Growth Options was expected in Summer 2024, but it has subsequently been delayed. This consultation is to consider the typologies for growth moving forward (e.g. brownfield, edge of settlement, new settlements, etc) and will give an indication on future locations for growth in Buckinghamshire to meet housing need. At the Buckinghamshire Forum held on 30th October 2024 , it was announced that the consultation on Growth Options has been paused due to the dNPPF. A discussion paper has been prepared setting out a way forward and is expected to go to an Informal Cabinet Meeting for approval in November 2024. Subject to member approval, an updated Local Plan timetable and Media Statement is expected to be released by the end of 2024.
Buckinghamshire Council are progressing Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces (SANG) to mitigate the impacts of development on the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC), which has been a major planning consideration since 2022. Determination of the first Kingsbrook Strategic SANG is expected by the end of the year. Until these SANGs are in place, this will remain a challenge to processing development in parts of Buckinghamshire.
Five-Year Land Supply
Speculative planning applications should not be progressed in the MKCC Authority area. The Council have been overdelivering on housing targets for a few years now and, whilst housing numbers will go up slightly from 1,728pa to 1,759pa as part of the revisions to the LHNSM under the dNPPF, this will not result in any tangible impact to the Council.
On the other hand, Buckinghamshire Council face increased pressures to meet a significant housing need uplift (2,912 dwellings pa to 4,122 dwellings pa) under the draft LHNSM. Short-term speculative applications are likely to be difficult in Buckinghamshire Authority as a result of constraints such as Green Belt and/or the need for SANG. This is not to say that speculative applications won’t come forward given the slippage in Local Plan timetable and housing need pressures. However, the emerging Local Plan represents a more favourable avenue to pursue in terms of the promotion of sites for development.
At the current time, Buckinghamshire Council monitor on the basis of the former Districts – this will end in April 2025 at which point they will need to report on a Unitary Authority basis.
