The Local Plan for Buckinghamshire
What a local plan is
A local plan sets out a vision and framework for the future development of an area.
It addresses the needs and opportunities over the next 20 years for:
- housing
- the economy
- community facilities
- infrastructure
Our aims
We would like to ensure that Buckinghamshire remains a thriving and sustainable place to live.
The local plan will help protect the county’s rural character and valued landscapes, support healthy and inclusive communities, encourage economic prosperity, and enhance biodiversity. To achieve this, sustainable growth and thoughtful placemaking sits at the heart of our approach.
National planning requirements mean we must plan for around 95,500 new homes over the next twenty years. This is significantly higher than under previous national calculations. Despite this challenge, we remain committed to protecting our precious Green Belt, supporting well‑designed and sustainable neighbourhoods, and helping our town centres and local economies to grow.
Our progress so far
We've been gathering a wide range of evidence to understand Buckinghamshire’s future needs. This includes research on:
- housing need
- employment land requirements
- the economy
- transport and movement
- the natural environment
- climate change
- infrastructure and community facilities
We've engaged with residents, landowners, town and parish councils, neighbouring authorities and infrastructure providers through a series of consultations and Calls for Sites exercises. More than 1,300 people took part in our formal consultations during 2025, and we received around 10,000 responses to our Sites Engagement exercise in spring 2026.
We received over 1,400 site submissions through our Calls for Sites exercises. These have been assessed against a range of environmental, infrastructure and planning considerations to help inform decisions on potential site allocations.
Consultation on supporting planning documents, including the Buckinghamshire Design Code and Parking Standards for New Developments, has now been completed. The proposed final versions, informed by consultation feedback, will be published alongside the Local Plan and its supporting evidence in July 2026.
Our next steps
A consultation on the Draft Local Plan
We have reviewed the evidence and feedback received from residents, businesses and stakeholders through earlier consultation and engagement.
As a result, we have made changes to the Draft Local Plan to make sure it takes a sound and legally compliant approach to managing growth, protecting the environment and supporting local communities.
In line with planning legislation, we will consult on the Draft Local Plan before its submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for an independent examination.
When the consultation will happen
Subject to Cabinet approval on 22 July 2026, the consultation will run for 6 weeks.
The Draft Plan and documents will be added to Your Voice Bucks, where you will also be able to leave your comments.
What the consultation will ask
The consultation will ask whether the Local Plan is legally compliant and sound.
We will not be asking for any suggestions for changes or new proposals.
By sound we mean:
- positively prepared - it meets identified needs for homes, jobs and infrastructure
- justified - it is based on appropriate evidence and is the most appropriate strategy when compared with the alternatives
- effective – it can be delivered and implemented over the plan period
- consistent with national policy – it supports sustainable development and aligns with national planning policy
After the consultation closes
The following steps will happen after the consultation closes:
- We will review the comments received and prepare the Draft Local Plan and supporting documents.
- We will submit the Draft Local Plan, supporting evidence and consultation responses to the Planning Inspectorate no later than 31 December 2026 (subject to approval by Full Council in November 2026).
- The Planning Inspectorate will appoint an independent Planning Inspector to examine the Local Plan and consider all consultation comments.
- The Inspector will publish a report setting out whether the Draft Local Plan is legally compliant and sound and identifying any changes needed to make it sound.
- The Inspector's report will be published on our website.
- We will update the Draft Local Plan to incorporate any required ‘Main Modifications’ and additional minor amendments, such as factual updates or corrections.
- The Local Plan will be presented to Full Council for adoption.
Previous progress
We have also done the following:
We used a questionnaire survey to start early discussions and find out the issues that local residents and organisations think are important in shaping the future of the area.
The survey ended on 11 February 2022. View details of the survey and how we involved residents and other organisations in the Statement of Consultation (PDF, 770 KB).
We asked the public and organisations to complete a questionnaire. This was to find out opinions on our draft Local Plan vision and objectives for Buckinghamshire up to 2040. We asked for suggested changes. The questionnaire also covered the draft vision and objectives for the Local Transport Plan 5 (LTP 5).
This draft vision and objectives were developed from responses received through the Local Plan Questionnaire Survey 2021 to 2022.
The survey ended on 4 June 2023.
The responses to this questionnaire are being considered and will inform the next stage of the Local Plan.
See the draft vision and objectives (PDF, 165 KB)
Vision and objectives consultation statement (PDF, 984KB)
In 2021 we carried out 2 'call for brownfield sites' engagement exercises, asking residents to submit previously developed land for consideration.
Following an initial assessment, we concluded that not all these sites will be suitable, achievable and available.
Between June and September 2022, we carried out a separate ‘wider call for sites’ exercises. Over the three exercises we received over 1,000 sites which are currently being assessed.
After a new national policy was introduced that changed the way we calculate our housing need for Buckinghamshire, increasing our local housing need figure significantly under the government's revised standard methodology (December 2024), we carried out a fourth call for sites, called 2025 Call for sites, from 12 of March until the 23 of April.
View more information on how to tell us about a site for development.
View our updates that went up to the end of 2025.
Draft Local Plan for Buckinghamshire Consultation 2025
We recently consulted on parts of the Local Plan that have been prepared to date.
The consultation ran from 17 September to 29 October 2025.
We have received over 1,300 representations and are currently reviewing them to identify the key issues and how best to address them. The statement of consultation will be available when we publish the plan in July 2026, explaining how the feedback has shaped the Local Plan.
Draft Local Plan consultation documents and supporting material
View the Draft Local Plan:
- Evidence
- Part A Spatial Strategy (PDF, 1.7MB)
- Part B Development Management Policies (PDF, 3MB)
- Consultation video
- Further information
- Summary leaflet (PDF, 6.23MB)
- Virtual Exhibition Boards
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.
A targeted Gypsy and Traveller call for sites took place between 17 September – 29 October 2025.
The promoted sites will be assessed on their suitability, availability and achievability and the outcomes of these assessments will be published in due course.
The informal sites engagement exercise, which ran from February to March 2026 as part of the Regulation 18 stage of plan-making, has now closed.
The deadline for submitting feedback was 11:59pm on 16 March 2026 and we are no longer accepting responses.
What happens next
We are now reviewing all feedback received from landowners, developers, town and parish councils and infrastructure providers. This will help us refine the evidence base and shape the emerging strategy for where future development could take place.
The outcomes of this work will feed into the publication version of the Local Plan in the summer.
About the engagement (now closed)
During the engagement period, we invited feedback to validate the availability, suitability, and viability of approximately 400 potential development sites. This included sites with potential for housing (including gypsy and traveller provision), employment or mixed-use development.
This site engagement exercise formed part of Regulation 18 stage of drafting the Local Plan. This has been an important stage where initial site information has been shared and gathered views from those with a direct interest in development land.
Documents published during the engagement
You can view documents published during this site engagement on our draft local plan evidence page.
You can view the sites on our interactive map (last updated 16 March 2026) allowing users to find the location of all assessed sites:
- select the icon in the top left corner (the middle button, with 3 dots)
- sites included in the potential housing and employment supply are shown in turquoise
- sites requiring further assessment are dark blue
- sites within the grey belt that are not included in the potential supply are shown in grey
If you have questions about the sites engagement
You can view our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (PDF, 286 KB).
We consulted on the draft Buckinghamshire Design Code from 14 April to 12 May 2026.
The Design Code sets out county-wide design requirements for all new development to ensure that new development in Buckinghamshire is of high quality.
The requirements in the Design Code will give applicants greater certainty about the council’s expectations for the approach to design and the quality of outcomes.
Your feedback has informed the proposed final version, which will be submitted alongside the Local Plan and supporting evidence for consideration by the Planning Inspector.
Read more about the consultation and view the draft design code
We consulted on the draft Parking Standards for New Developments from 14 April to 12 May 2026. The standards set out how much parking should be provided in new developments, and how parking spaces should be designed and managed.
The aim is to support future development growth in Buckinghamshire while making sure that parking stays safe, accessible, and well-integrated into local communities.
Your feedback has informed the proposed final version, which will be submitted alongside the Local Plan and supporting evidence for consideration by the Planning Inspector.
Read more about the consultation and view the supporting documents