Development in the Burnham Beeches Special Area of Conservation

Useful links:

Burnham Beeches Supplementary Planning Document (PDF, 1.28MB)

Burnham Beeches SAMMs indexation costs (Excel, 51KB)

Burnham Beeches, a primarily wooded area in southern Buckinghamshire, was designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This was to protect the 'beech forest on acid soil' habitat, and acknowledges the mosses, lichens, insects and other invertebrates that depend on the ancient trees. All SACs are protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations (2017), giving these areas the highest degree of protection available in law.

The northern part of the SAC is private woodland, only accessible by public footpaths and a small number of permissive paths. The southern part, Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve (NNR), is a Public Open Space owned and managed by the City of London Corporation as a charity. Other habitats on the reserve include wood pasture, heathland, grassland, mire and valley mire, grassland, ponds and streams.

To protect the reserve, Burnham Beeches NNR is managed through a series of 10-year management plans, drawn up with and given consent by Natural England. The current Burnham Beeches management plan runs from 2020 to 2030.

The mitigation is for Strategic Accessible Management and Monitoring (SAMM) payments to improvements on site at Burnham Beeches. This is set out in the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) adopted in 2020. In the West Area (former Wycombe District) there is also a Suitable Accessible Natural Green space (SANG) at Little Marlow Lakes (see details below). There is currently no requirement for any SANGs in the former South or East Planning areas of Buckinghamshire (former South Bucks and Chiltern District areas).

The current SAMMs payment per dwelling (the year 2025/26) is £2128.64.

The Burnham Beeches Strategic Access and Monitoring Strategy (SAMMS) runs for 80 years and is currently being delivered through six core projects. These specify how funds received by Buckinghamshire Council will be used to directly manage and avoid the negative impacts of an increase in recreation at Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve.

Burnham Beeches SAMMs Indexation Costs (Excel, 51KB)

At this site, west of Bourne End, there is a Suitable Accessible Natural Green space (SANG) approved by Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet 2 January 2025. This SANG is part of the agreed mitigation needed for a housing development site at Hollands Farm (site BE2) in the Wycombe District Local Plan 2019. The SANG is around the Spade Oak Lake area close to Little Marlow.

You can contact our planning service by emailing [email protected]