The Local Plan for Buckinghamshire

Draft Local Plan for Buckinghamshire Consultation

We are consulting on parts of the Local Plan that have been prepared to date which includes:

The consultation will run from 17 September to 11.59pm on 29 October 2025.

We will review all the comments we receive and consider these to help us shape the Local Plan.

To have your say, visit the Local Plan consultation page.

Draft Local Plan consultation documents and supporting material

Call for Gypsy and Traveller sites

The Local Plan for Buckinghamshire (LP4B) will allocate sites for development in the period up to 2045 to meet the housing, economic development need including the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople needs of Buckinghamshire.

This is the first call for sites engagement exercise specifically for Traveller accommodation.

The call for sites will run from 17 September to 11.59pm on 29 October 2025.

To submit a site, visit the consultation page.

Background

A Local Plan shows where development can happen, and protected places where it needs to be carefully controlled.

The Local Plan is the prime consideration when determining planning applications, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. A material consideration is a matter that should be taken into account in deciding a planning application or an appeal.

It draws up rules, known as policies, for how development happens. Development policies can cover a wide range of things that development must do, such as:

  • building the right number and size of homes
  • creating good places to live, which include shops and places to play
  • contributing to the infrastructure needed to serve the homes, such as roads, schools, and health facilities
  • protecting the environment by supporting wildlife, beautiful landscapes and historic places, and managing flood risk

A Local Plan also provides an opportunity for us to set out how we intend to manage current growth issues and address new and emerging agendas.

Local Plan aims

A Local Plan aims to deliver sustainable development through:

  • meeting the social, economic, and environmental needs of Buckinghamshire
  • better quality places
  • more comprehensive and predictable delivery of all kinds of infrastructure

It brings benefits for people who live, work, or visit here, through:

  • making sure there are enough of the right homes and workplaces
  • getting the infrastructure in the right place at the right time
  • delivering better deals from developers on the obligations arising from their proposals

It brings efficiencies for us through:

  • making prompt planning decisions
  • fewer planning appeals and so lower costs

We have done more work on these aims and how they can be met. You can see this in the work already underway.

Local Plan work already underway

Work is currently underway to produce the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire. We are assessing sites, commissioning evidence studies and drafting policies.

Following national planning reforms and the need to plan for more housing, we are undertaking an additional call for sites engagement exercise. Further information regarding this can be found on our tell us about a site for development webpage.

We have also done the following: