Homes & housing

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out Policy NZ.4 on improving the energy performance of existing buildings. Where planning permission is needed for conversions, extensions or changes of use, applicants should show they have considered energy efficiency. Major schemes (10 or more homes or 1,000 square metres of floorspace) should report percentage improvements using the Building Regulations calculation methods SAP, SBEM or HEM. Committing to EnerPHit certification or the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard earns extra weight in decisions, and low carbon heating must be explored before replacing gas systems.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains Policy NZ.5 on designing buildings to cope with a hotter climate. Major new developments must follow the cooling hierarchy, using passive measures first and active cooling such as air conditioning only as a last resort. Detailed overheating assessments using the industry methods CIBSE TM52 (non-residential) and TM59 (residential) are encouraged, ideally tested against projected 2050 or 2080 weather. The councils argue that the basic route through national Building Regulations Part O is not enough, partly because it does not cover workplaces, schools or leisure buildings.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This allocation designates Westcott Enterprise Zone and Venture Park, a 268 hectare Strategic Employment Area expected to deliver approximately 65 hectares of employment land for research, industrial and distribution uses. Westcott is a nationally important centre for space, robotics, drones and advanced engineering, home to around ninety businesses. The policy takes a flexible approach, allowing supporting facilities and limited, time-restricted worker accommodation where needed for the site to function, but housing must stay subordinate to the employment role. Proposals must also improve sustainable travel links to Aylesbury, Bicester and the wider area.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains that the Development Management policies cover housing, employment, the natural and built environment, transport, infrastructure, community facilities and climate change. They set the standards, mitigation measures and design principles needed to make development sustainable and beneficial to communities. In line with national policy, they respond to local circumstances while staying consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework, and they will be applied in proportion to the scale and nature of each proposal.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out when a Health Impact Assessment is required with a planning application. The thresholds are residential schemes of 10 or more homes or 0.5 hectares, non-residential schemes of 1,000 square metres or 1 hectare, hot food takeaways within 400 metres of schools and places where young people gather, and betting shops. Developments causing significant harm to health, or the loss of educational, health, leisure or community facilities or public open space, will not be supported without mitigation. Local life expectancy slightly exceeds the England average.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires new residential development, including conversions, to provide a mix of home types and sizes that meets current and future housing needs. The mix for market housing should broadly follow the Council's latest evidence, currently the Buckinghamshire Local Housing Needs Assessment 2026, along with any Neighbourhood Development Plan evidence. The mix can be negotiated where developers provide evidence about local market conditions, local character or physical constraints. The proportions are a guide rather than a fixed requirement, but any variation must be fully justified.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out Table 6, which shows the recommended mix of market and affordable housing by type. For market housing the guide is 15% one-bedroom homes, 14% flats with two or more bedrooms, 16% two-bedroom houses, 28% three-bedroom homes, 23% homes with four or more bedrooms and 4% specialist older person housing. For affordable housing the figures are 27%, 13%, 23%, 26%, 7%, 2% and 2% for supported housing.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires affordable housing on developments of 10 or more homes or sites of 0.5 hectares or more. The rate varies by area: a minimum of 40% in the South, East and West (brownfield sites in the West subject to viability evidence), and 25% in the North and Central areas, rising to 50% on land in or released from the Green Belt. The tenure mix should be at least 60% social rent, 20% affordable rent and 20% shared ownership. Affordable homes must be spread through a development, look indistinguishable from market homes, and normally be built on site.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets out when developers must prove their scheme's finances. Proposals that meet the affordable housing and infrastructure requirements will not face viability testing. Where a developer offers less than policy requires, they must submit a fully transparent, unredacted open book financial viability assessment, independently reviewed at the applicant's expense. If contributions are reduced, the Council will secure review mechanisms so that any later improvement in viability delivers extra affordable housing or infrastructure. The policy also guards against sites being split up to fall below the 10-home threshold.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires accessible homes on sites of 10 or more dwellings. On these sites, 25% of all homes must meet the Building Regulations M4(2) standard for accessible and adaptable dwellings, and a further 5% must meet the M4(3) wheelchair user standard, including 7% of affordable homes. Compliance should be shown in the Design and Access Statement. Figures are rounded down to the nearest home, so schemes below 20 homes will not need to provide M4(3) wheelchair-accessible dwellings.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy supports self-build and custom housebuilding, where people commission or build their own homes. On sites of 50 or more dwellings, at least 5% of market homes must be provided as serviced plots for self or custom build, unless robust evidence shows a lower share is needed for viability. Plots must be marketed for at least 24 months; if unsold they should be offered to the Council or a Registered Provider before the developer can build them out as market housing. Each plot needs a plot passport setting out its key design rules.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets rules for large houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), typically shared homes for seven or more unrelated people. Proposals must not create an over-concentration of HMOs that harms local character or parking availability, must use suitable buildings with proper refuse storage, cycle and car parking and drying areas, and must be accessible to public transport, shops and local services. Management arrangements to limit antisocial behaviour may be required by planning condition. Smaller HMOs of three to six people are treated like ordinary housing.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires specialist and supported housing on larger sites. Developments of more than 600 homes must provide at least 10% of homes as older persons accommodation, and sites of more than 150 homes must provide at least 4% of the affordable housing for other specialist needs, such as people with learning disabilities or mental health needs. Older persons schemes must be in sustainable locations with on-site care and social facilities. Existing specialist housing cannot be lost unless equivalent or better provision is made nearby or the use is shown to be unviable.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains the policy on altering existing buildings. Replacement dwellings are only appropriate where the existing home is unsuitable for retention, and must be well sited, well designed and not significantly larger than the home replaced. The existing dwelling must have lawful use as a home and not have been demolished or abandoned before the application is decided. The justification notes that managing housing stock reduces the loss of homes, and that conversions can add to housing supply as windfall sites, though intensification can affect neighbours and local infrastructure.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy manages changes to existing buildings. Converting existing buildings is encouraged as an often more sustainable approach, but the existing housing stock is safeguarded: proposals must not cause a net loss of homes through demolition, conversion or change of use without overriding justification. Extensions and alterations must be of appropriate scale and subservient to the existing building, respecting local character, the cumulative effect of previous extensions, and neighbours' amenity. Outbuildings and annexes must likewise be subservient to the main building and carefully sited.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy supports affordable homes on Rural Exception Sites, which are sites next to villages that would not normally get planning permission for housing. Schemes must meet a clearly evidenced local need, be of a size that suits the settlement, have access to local services, and be owned and managed by a Registered Provider so the homes stay affordable in perpetuity. A small amount of market housing may be allowed only where robust evidence shows a 100% affordable scheme would not be viable, and only at the minimum level needed.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy guides development on windfall sites, meaning unallocated sites that come forward unexpectedly within settlements. Development will be permitted where its scale, density and character fit the existing settlement, either within the built-up area or by consolidating the settlement pattern without harm. Proposals must not cause settlements to merge, must avoid significant harm to landscape, heritage, biodiversity and open space, and must have the infrastructure capacity to support them. The policy includes criteria for judging whether a site counts as being within a settlement.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy supports residential annexes, which are ancillary living spaces for family members or dependants of the main household. An annexe must remain subordinate to the main dwelling, share its access and garden, and be designed so it can be brought back into the main home rather than becoming a separate dwelling. It cannot be sold or occupied independently. Applicants must submit a statement justifying the need for the annexe, the connection of its occupants to the household, and its proposed floor area.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section describes proposal BIT.1, land at Park Farm west of Bishop's Tachbrook. The 41-hectare site will deliver at least 655 homes between 2030/31 and 2037/38, plus 2.2 hectares of land for a possible two-form entry primary school, a community hall site and a small local centre. A significant green buffer will protect the setting of the Grade I listed Warwick Castle parkland. A contaminated land assessment is needed for the former quarry and landfill in the northern part of the site.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy resists the loss of existing accessible green space, including allotments, and the transfer of public green infrastructure into private gardens. Loss will be refused unless an assessment against Natural England's standards proves the space is surplus, the land makes no positive contribution to appearance, recreation or wildlife, it contains no priority habitats or species, and there is no cumulative harm to the local area. Any green space lost must be replaced with equivalent or better provision within the catchment of the space lost.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out proposal BIT.3, 122 hectares north-west of Bishop's Tachbrook delivering at least 1,720 homes on about 46 hectares between 2028/29 and 2040/41. Around 74 hectares becomes public open space, including a 40-hectare extension to Tachbrook Country Park to keep a permanent green gap south of Leamington. The scheme includes a community hub with possible shops and a GP surgery, land for a two-form entry primary school, and funding towards secondary education. Green buffers must keep Bishop's Tachbrook visually separate from Leamington and Warwick.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets the rules for Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), which is green space created to draw visitors away from protected nature sites. A SANG must provide at least eight hectares per 1,000 new occupants, a circular walk of at least 2.3km, one parking space per hectare, and be secured and managed for at least 80 years. It must be open before the homes relying on it are occupied. Developments of ten or more homes must contribute to a strategic SANG or provide their own; smaller schemes can rely on any strategic SANG in the zone.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy explains that most development in the Green Belt is inappropriate and will be refused unless very special circumstances apply. Exceptions include buildings for agriculture and forestry, facilities for outdoor sport and recreation, replacing or extending existing buildings, limited infilling within identified villages, and affordable housing on rural exception sites. Infill plots and buildings must be comparable in size to typical plots and houses in the village. The plan has also reviewed the Green Belt to identify Grey Belt land, but this policy applies to all Green Belt land.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets limits on extending or replacing buildings in the Green Belt. The resulting building must be no more than 50% larger than the original building's gross external floor area, with 'original' meaning the building as it stood on 1 July 1948 or as first built. Outside village built-up areas, domestic outbuildings must not exceed 25% of the original dwelling's floor area, cover no more than 50% of the garden area, or exceed 4 metres in height. Proposals must also respect the open character of the Green Belt.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets out when development is acceptable in countryside that lies outside the Green Belt. Supported categories include agriculture and forestry, outdoor sport, buildings for existing rural businesses, development within settlement built-up areas, rural exception housing, sites for Gypsies and Travellers, homes for rural workers, extensions, conversions of existing buildings and redevelopment of previously developed land. It also supports improvements to the Grand Union Canal network. The policy guides windfall sites (sites not specifically allocated in the plan) towards existing settlements as the most sustainable locations.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy safeguards the former Bourne End to High Wycombe railway line, closed in 1970, as a future walking, wheeling and cycling route. Development must not prejudice a 5 metre wide corridor along the old track bed between Bourne End and High Wycombe town centre. Major sites of 10 or more homes (or employment equivalent) within 800 metres must contribute to building the route or provide links to it. The council no longer expects the line to reopen for public transport but considers it a direct, largely flat and traffic-free active travel route.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires all new dwellings and conversions to meet the nationally described technical housing standards for minimum internal space. These standards cover the overall floor area of a home for a given number of occupants, as well as the size of bedrooms, storage space and floor to ceiling height. The standards already apply in the former Wycombe district area, and the plan's evidence will test the viability of applying them across the whole of Buckinghamshire.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires all development to provide a high standard of living for residents of both new and existing homes. Schemes must be designed to maximise privacy, optimise natural light while minimising overheating risk, and avoid or mitigate harmful noise, vibration, air pollution and odour. All dwellings must have a good outlook, preferably onto green landscaping rather than hard surfaces or car parking, and developments must support residents' actual and perceived sense of safety and security.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for larger developments: residential schemes of 100 or more dwellings, non-residential schemes of 1,000 square metres or more, and uses such as education, health and social care, care homes, leisure, community and fast food outlets. The HIA should be prepared early, before a planning application is submitted, to identify positive health impacts and minimise negative ones, with a focus on reducing health inequalities. Its conclusions must be reflected in the design of the scheme.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section describes proposal STR.1, north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The Clopton Quarter will deliver at least 777 homes, land for a new education facility, 4 Gypsy and Traveller pitches, new community orchards and a new gateway to Welcombe Hills Country Park with a visitor centre. The allocation also redevelops the town's Park and Ride with about 139 higher-density homes at 90 per hectare and a two-storey decked car park keeping roughly 390 spaces per floor. Delivery runs from 2029/30 to 2037/38, with main access from a new A46 roundabout.