Issue - meetings

The Council is required to publish a local development scheme setting out what local plans it intends to prepare, their scope and timetable for preparation. Appendix A of the report set out the Buckinghamshire Local Development Scheme, indicating that the Council would prepare the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan and the Buckinghamshire Local Plan.

RECOMMENDED: That the Buckinghamshire Local Development Scheme included at Appendix A of the report be AGREED.

Cllr Whyte introduced the report commenting that the Council was required to prepare a Local Development Scheme (LDS) setting out the local plans it intends to prepare over the next 3 years, their scope and timetable for their preparation. This means setting out plans that were currently being prepared, in particular the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP), and the plans we intend to prepare over the next three years, namely the Buckinghamshire Local Plan. Mention was made of the risks included within the report associated with the Planning White Paper (PWP) as this had far reaching implications for the content of localplans, the way they were prepared and the timing of what may be done and when.  He concluded by informing the meeting that work was being undertaken on the Statement of Community Involvement which would enable stakeholders to engage and be involved in the process.

During discussions, Cllr Tett commented that the Local Development Plan was an important document for laying out the pathway that the new Local Plan would take. A question was raised in relation to the benefits of parishes having neighbourhood plans in place, to which Cllr Whyte responded to by urging all parishes to look at the benefits of having these plans in place.

The following decision was made to enable the Buckinghamshire Local Plan to be progressed and to meet the statutory requirement to prepare a Local Development Scheme.

RESOLVED: That the Buckinghamshire Local Development Scheme included at Appendix A of the report be AGREED.