Colne Valley Regional Park

NE11: Colne Valley Regional Park 1. The Policies Map and plan below define the extent of the Colne Valley Regional Park (CVRP) within Buckinghamshire. As a member of the CVRP, the Council will expect development in or affecting the CVRP to meet all the following criteria: a) Maintaining and enhancing the landscape, historic environment and waterscape of the park in terms of its scenic and conservation value and overall amenity. b) Conserving and enhancing biodiversity within the park, including the Biodiversity Opportunity Areas, through the protection and management of its species, habitats and geological features and providing joined up nature corridors. c) Providing opportunities for countryside recreation and ensure that facilities are accessible to all including vulnerable groups. d) Taking opportunities to provide or enhance excellent walking, wheeling and cycling routes and enhance the Rights of Way network to connect communities to green spaces and green corridors. e) Enabling a vibrant and sustainable rural economy within the park. f) Encouraging community participation, including volunteering and environmental education, and promote the health and social well-being through high quality green space and its contribution to the wider green infrastructure network. g) Delivering the aims and objectives of the Buckinghamshire Green Infrastructure Strategy and Buckinghamshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy including reinforcing green infrastructure, carbon offsetting measures and reducing the urban heat island effect. h) Helping to reduce pollution to the River Colne, other connected watercourses and elsewhere affecting the Regional Park; and i) Enhancing waterbodies in the park, applying all measures in policies NE1 and NE2 7.207 The Colne Valley Regional Park covers over 10,000 hectares and straddles many local authority boundaries. It includes the eastern part of the Plan area from the east of Chalfont St Peter and Gerrards Cross extending southwards to include the areas around the Ivers and Richings Park. 7.208 The Colne Valley Regional Park Trust is in the spring-summer 2026 considering a potential extension of the park area to include the parish of Fulmer. There are various options for an extension, and the Trust is engaging with Fulmer Parish Council and local stakeholders. If this extension is agreed, this policy would apply to the revised extent of the park, and the revised extent will be shown at a later stage toward adoption of this Local Plan. 7.209 The Colne Valley Regional Park was established for recreation and leisure by the former Greater London Council, the former Buckinghamshire County Council and the other local authorities within its area. The boundaries were established in 1967. The Colne Valley Park Trust acts as a champion of the park interests. Their objectives are to manage and enhance the landscape, safeguard the countryside, conserve and enhance biodiversity, provide opportunities for countryside recreation, achieve a vibrant and sustainable rural economy and encourage community participation. 7.210 The Park has potential to link strongly with the objectives in the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) and the four other county LNRSs. The Park is nationally important for biodiversity and includes part of one Special Protection Area, part of one National Nature Reserve, thirteen Sites of Special Scientific Interest and seven Local Nature Reserves. There are also many non-statutory county wildlife sites, ancient woodlands and informal nature reserves. This strategy (as replaced) should be used to inform details of how the requirements of policy NE11 can be delivered in and around development sites. 7.211 A Colne and Crane Valleys Green Infrastructure Strategy was developed by the Colne Valley Regional Park and Crane Valley in 2019 for the Colne and Crane Valleys: Green Infrastructure Strategy - Colne and Crane Valleys - Colne Valley Regional Park. 7.212 The forthcoming Buckinghamshire Green Infrastructure Study will help enhance connectivity and recreational space from the rest of Buckinghamshire into the Park. The Grand Union Canal runs through the Colne Valley Regional Park and is ideal for leisure cruising, boat trips and walking. Several organisations provide access to the fishing and the lakes at the northern end of CVRP offer sailing, wind surfing, canoeing and other activities. 7.213 There are several excellent cycling routes to choose from in the park, including the Colne Valley Trail, a 12-mile country route linking Rickmansworth via Denham to Colnbrook (with an additional branch running from Iver to Langley). The route is shared by cyclists, walkers and horse riders in places and is a great way to connect towns, villages and railway stations with country parks. 7.214 The Colne Valley Regional Park is fed by several rivers, including the Chess, the Misbourne, the Alderbourne and the Colne itself. They provide important habitats and help maintain the floodplain, grazing marshes and other riparian habitat across the park. There are several opportunities to re-naturalise rivers fed by the River Colne, to improve their flow and habitats. The River Colne is impacted by pollution from a variety of diffuse and point sources; these include wastewater from the water industry, as well as pollution related to agriculture and urban and transport infrastructure. 7.215 Developments can help ensure they do not add to worsening pollution of the River Colne and linked watercourses but also may be asked to help contribute to schemes to reduce pollution and enhance watercourses elsewhere in the vicinity of the park. 7.216 Waterbodies are an important feature in the Colne Valley Regional Park with over 200km of river and canals with over sixty lakes supporting a great variety of wildlife while providing the public with drinking water as well as opportunities for business and recreation. People and wildlife need water to survive from day to day but unfortunately our water sources are under threat with high water consumption, climate change, over extraction of water sources, and an ever-increasing population. 7.217 The location of the park presents the opportunity with green spaces, vegetation and trees to help reduce urban heat island from London and other large built-up areas. The Park can also provide opportunities to offset climate change emissions from other sites transport and buildings. Figure 31: Map Showing Colne Valley Park