Keep Bourne End Green

PROPOSAL

Consultation: draft Wycombe district local plan

Wycombe district council have released the draft local plan for Wycombe district for the period 2017 to 2033.

The draft sets out:

core policies
where they propose to provide for new homes and jobs - covering our towns and rural areas
policies for housing and economic growth
policies to protect the countryside - specifically the green belt and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

The draft takes account of comments made during the options consultation in spring 2014

Here's the Draft plan (Adobe PDF file)

Here's the information leaflet, sent to all local homes (Adobe PDF file)

Local plan timeline

Spring 2014: options consultation

Summer 2016: consultation on draft local plan

2017: submission to Planning Inspectorate

2018: August/September - Planning Inspector Review

Policy BE01 – Slate Meadow 10 Hectares - 150-190 Houses

Policy BE02 – Hollands Farm 31 Hectares - 355-500 Houses

Policy BE03 – Northern Heights - 2.84 Hectares - 40 Houses

what DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?

In brief, as well as already releasing Slate Meadow from the green belt for development, the council are also looking into the option of releasing both Hollands Farm and Northern Heights from the Green Belt to enable it to meet the housing requirements set upon them by the government.

There is a proposal for around 750 new homes within Bourne End; 150-190 in Slate Meadow, 355-500 at Hollands Farm plus link roads and bus routes, and an additional 40 at Northern Heights.

750 new homes will drastically change the nature and feel of our village. It will also mean that we lose a number of green belt sites. As well as these sites being beautiful green belt areas, Hollands Farm is classified as Grade 2 farmland providing stabling and pastures for horses and pheasant breeding.

Additional traffic from the developments will negatively impact the traffic over Cookham Ferry Bridge which is already a bottle neck in the area. It will also have an impact on Hedsor Road, which is something the council says it is trying to avoid.

At present there are no details provided by the council on how the local infrastructure will need to be changed to accommodate such large numbers of new homes. This includes the impact on schools, doctors, dentist and parking within the village.