The Conservative Council’s draft local plan represents a long overdue step forward for Buckinghamshire. After consistently missing housing targets, the Labour government has successfully forced the Tories to provide the county with a workable planning framework that delivers our housing targets across Buckinghamshire.
Whilst I welcome this progress, this plan must also respond to the reality facing people across Buckinghamshire today. Young people who grow up here, study here and want to build their lives here are increasingly finding that they simply cannot afford to rent or buy a home in the communities they call home. That cannot be right.
Alongside the need to expand affordable housing opportunities for younger residents, I am keenly aware of the growing demand for social housing in Wycombe and across Buckinghamshire. Having grown up in a council flat, I know personally what a lifeline social housing can be for a family. It provides security, stability and the chance to get on in life. My team and I hear from constituents every day who are struggling with both the affordability and availability of housing. Many feel trapped in unsuitable accommodation, often facing overcrowded conditions, poor housing standards, or homes that no longer meet their family’s needs.
Bucks Home Choice guidance highlights the significant shortage of social housing across Buckinghamshire, while Buckinghamshire Council estimates that more than 5,000 households are currently on the waiting list. Despite this clear and pressing need, the proposed provision falls far short of what Buckinghamshire requires, delivering less than half of the affordable homes that the Council itself has identified as necessary. Identifying the need for 35,000 and planning to deliver under 15,000.
I have submitted my objection to the proposed affordable housing approach of the local plan because I do not consider that the Reg 19 evidence demonstrates sufficiently that the chosen strategy is the most appropriate reasonable strategy for maximising delivery against Buckinghamshire’s exceptionally high identified need for affordable housing, particularly socially rented. If we are going to plan for the future of our county, we need to make sure that the people who want to live and work here can actually afford to do so.
Overall, I believe this plan is a positive step and one that should be supported, subject to strong and binding commitments on affordable housing, school provision, infrastructure and local regeneration.