Chesham Neighbourhood Plan

A referendum will soon(?) be held to approve the Chesham Neighbourhood Plan (or not…) Here are two versions –

• As submitted to the inspector (June 24)
• As received back, and approved by the council 

The differences, according to ChatGPT, are –

👉 Major change: the housing allocation policy (CHESH1 in submission) and the Ashridge SAC mitigation policy were removed.

🌍 Environmental policies

• Submission plan contained a detailed policy on Ashridge Commons & Woods SAC mitigation .
• Approved plan omits this — presumably because Natural England/Bucks Council will handle it via their own strategy, not the NP.

✅ In summary:
The inspector simplified and renumbered policies, removed the housing site allocation and SAC mitigation policies, and streamlined the plan to focus on design, heritage, green infrastructure, and local green spaces. The substantive difference is that site allocations and detailed environmental mitigation are gone, leaving a more general, design- and conservation-focused neighbourhood plan.

Here’s a summary of the policies that were removed (🟥 red) in the Approved Chesham Neighbourhood Plan compared to the Submission version:

❌ Removed Policies

1. CHESH1: Brownfield Opportunities
   • Would have allocated six brownfield sites for housing-led redevelopment (approx. 219–351 homes).
   • Inspector removed this — neighbourhood plans can’t allocate housing sites unless fully evidenced and agreed with the Local Plan.

2. CHESH13: Residential Parking Standard

1. • Proposed strict local parking standards (e.g. 0–0.5 spaces per dwelling in the town centre).
   • Removed — likely because parking standards are usually set at county/local plan level, not in neighbourhood plans.

3. CHESH14: Chiltern Beechwoods SAC Mitigation

1. • Required developments to address visitor impacts on the protected Ashridge Commons & Woods site.
   • Removed — mitigation is being handled through Buckinghamshire Council’s strategic approach, so the NP didn’t need a duplicate policy.

✅ In short:
The inspector stripped out housing site allocations, parking standards, and site-specific environmental mitigation, leaving the plan to focus more on design, green spaces, heritage, and town centre policy.

NB the reasons for removal (in italics above) have not been confirmed as yet.

Does the removal of the housing allocation mean that the plan offers no defence against unrestricted development ? Is the resulting plan ‘better then nothing’ ?  Watch this space …