Buckinghamshire Local Plan
Background
The Buckinghamshire Local Plan sets out housing needs for Bucks over the next 20 years. It is driven by Central Government housing targets which have been increased by 43% for Bucks. These targets are NOT optional and Bucks have to show they are making good progress to achieve this target. Central Government are monitoring the process closely and are empowered to take over if they feel Bucks are not progressing. Bucks are aiming to keep control and demonstrate they are achieving the targets despite not agreeing with them. When in place, the Local Plan will allow Bucks to regain control over speculative applications from developers.
The initial site consultation was undertaken in March, and all responses have been analysed by Bucks. There were over 10,000 representations, which were mainly site specific, and the review of all these has allowed some changes to be made to the draft plan.
How you can view the interactive map
There is a new interactive map showing all sites proposed by developers which have been assessed and agreed by the council. You can view this here
Buckinghamshire Local Plan Policies Map
What is happening now
The plan is at a critical stage. Bucks has published a draft, and we have until 06 September to comment. It sets out how Bucks will meet the government’s non-negotiable target of 91,000 new homes.
Right now, comments are limited to “legal compliance” and “soundness” — not general views. That sounds dry, but these comments matter a lot. See below.
Why does this affect us?
The plan puts the vast majority of the new housing in the north of the county, where there’s more space. For Little Chalfont, that means only limited infill development (50 homes total) and nothing in the Green Belt. You will see that there are 3 small sites identified, land at Station Approach, for mixed use, land in Elizabeth Avenue site, again for mixed retail and residential use, and land at the rear of St. George’s Church, for housing (which is a new allocation).
At their meeting on Saturday 08 August, our local councillors urged residents to comment in support of the plan, so it can be adopted quickly. Without an adopted plan, speculative developers find it easier to target the Green Belt — since there’s no plan in place for them to conflict with.
The recent purchase of land off Bell Lane by Barratts is a good example of this kind of speculative development.
Councillors also asked us to specifically support the sections of the plan that protect the Green Belt.
What do you need to do, and how long will it take?
Good news — you don’t need to read all 450 pages. The link below takes you to a guide showing how to fill in the key sections. It’s a genuinely useful tool.
Our local Bucks Councillors have produced a document to assist in completing the Consultation. View this document here.
It should take no more than around 30 minutes to complete the comments sections indicated in this document.
What if I do nothing?
Two risks. First, other residents across the county may comment asking for development to be spread more evenly, including into the Green Belt — so it’s important that comments supporting Green Belt protection are also hear. Second, a lack of support from local residents could lead the inspector to delay or refuse the plan, with the consequences described above.
The Plan and documents are available here.
We understand that the Parish Council are reviewing the Plan and the implications for Little Chalfont.
Please do have your say!
Roads and Maintenance
To see information about all major roadworks occurring in or around Little Chalfont, you can follow the first link below to the Bucks Council website which takes you to the Causeway one.network. Here you can find all the current, planned road closures and road works and those planned for future time periods. Clicking on individual roadworks on the interactive map gives more details such as reason and timescale.
Check for roadworks and closures
You can also register with the Causeway website and set up alerts for works in your chosen area and receive periodic updates. The following blog explains how to do this:
How Planning works in Bucks
Buckinghamshire Council is the local authority for all of Buckinghamshire. It deals with all aspects of planning.
Bucks Gov Website – Planning and building control
This link will take you to the part of their website which covers specific applications, but also their policies. There’s a lot here, but importantly, you will see that there is not yet a Local Plan for Buckinghamshire. When this is published and approved, it will become a key reference document for everyone.
There is also a Chiltern District Local Plan, but this dates back to 1997 (with some later revisions), and many parts are no longer relevant.
It’s worth mentioning also that there is a National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which is published by the UK Government and which sets out national policies – last published in December 2024. Bucks have to take this into account when making their decisions:
Read the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
Each time a planning application is submitted, Bucks appoint a Planning Officer to “own” the application. Their job is to assess and manage the application and to participate in the decision-making process at the end.
Buckinghamshire Council’s Planning Committee determine the outcome of planning applications.
Our Parish Council (PC) reviews all applications that affect us. At their monthly committee meeting, the councillor who has been studying the application makes a recommendation as to whether to object or not. The committee then considers this and posts their comments online, just as individual residents do.
Note that the PC takes a common sense not a technical approach. They are not planning experts. And the PC does not have any control over which decision the Bucks planners reach.
If a planning decision is made with which someone disagrees, there is a right to appeal but this is a long and costly process.
The best way to comment on an application
Relevant comments (which include objections) are not easy to put together. This is especially true as, for confidentiality reasons, comments made by other residents are no longer visible online.
Bucks Council give a useful guide on making comments here:
Bucks Gov Website – Comment or object to a planning application
The most important bit is at the bottom. It shows all the types of comments that they will consider and those they will not. It is not helpful to make comments that they won’t consider. At worst, this may mean that they don’t pay attention to your relevant comments (they do get a huge number of comments).
What type of applications do we include on this website?
Applications that we think have an impact on people who live and work in Little Chalfont.
We won’t include applications that affect one neighbour or one part of one road (e.g. an extension or a new house design) unless the application affects Little Chalfont as a whole.
Current applications
The table below lists all relevant applications that we have identified – with the appropriate links to plans and documents which guide the Bucks planning team when they review comments.
Updated on 2nd August 2026.
Location/Name | Reference Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Application for 7 dwellings north of Long Walk | Approved | |
Application for change of land use west of Bell Lane | PL/24/3925/FA | Approved |
Application for vehicular access onto A404 from 1 Oakington Avenue. | PL/25/4452/FA | Decided - appeal overturned |
Application for proposed new M&S foodstore White Lion Road, Amersham | PL/26/04839/FA | Registered |
Buckinghamshire Local Plan consultation | Final consultation open until 6th September |
Note: The Bell Lane application is for land that is, technically, outside Little Chalfont Parish. We believe that its impact on Bell Lane would be considerable. It is likely that this “Change of use from agricultural land to a Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space (SANG)” is phase one of a broader scheme to add more flats and houses on the land between Bell Lane and Raans Road.
To comment on any application, just click here:
and copy and paste the reference number, which we list in the “Current applications” section above, into the search box at the bottom of the page and click “search”.
You’ll need to register and login if you want to comment but this is straightforward.
Register and login here
For applications and information relating to the Little Chalfont Park development please see the Little Chalfont Park liaison group website
If you think that there is any part of this new planning section which we could improve, please send an email to enquiries@littlechalfont.org.uk Thank you.
Disclaimer
Any information on this website cannot and does not seek to be a substitute for specialist advice from a planning professional. The information is provided only to assist the Little Chalfont community to understand the basics of how and when the community can voice its views on planning applications, how planning applications are considered and some of the factors the planning officers and the council planning committee will consider when reaching a decision.
The LCCA is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this planning section is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information.
