Buckinghamshire Housing Strategy 2024 to 2029 consultation

Feedback updated 23 Apr 2024

We asked

We asked for your views on the priorities and actions in our draft Housing Strategy.

The consultation ran from 8 November 2023 to 18 January 2024.

You said

We received 161 responses to the consultation:

135 from individuals
26 on behalf of an organisation

Priority 1: Responding to the needs of our diverse population;

73% strongly agreed or agreed with this priority
11% neither agreed nor disagreed
10% disagreed
6% strongly disagreed

47% felt we have identified the right actions to achieve this priority.

Priority 2: Better homes: good quality, sustainable and matched to need;

79% strongly agreed or agreed with this priority
10% neither agreed nor disagreed
5% disagreed
6% strongly disagreed

55% felt we have identified the right actions to achieve this priority.

Priority 3: New homes: affordable, accessible and appropriate;

66% strongly agreed or agreed with this priority
19% neither agreed nor disagreed
6% disagreed
8% strongly disagreed
1% didn’t know

48% felt we have identified the right actions to achieve this priority.

We received comments on the following themes:

prioritising affordable housing
developing supporting infrastructure
associated climate change issues
protecting green space
quality of construction, design and energy efficiency
clear priorities for housing vulnerable people

The following suggestions were made:

to have a specific affordable housing definition
to create our own housing development company to develop affordable housing
to increase the target of 500 new affordable homes per year

View the full responses in the Consultation Report (PDF 0.45MB).

For more information, including our responses please see the Report for Buckinghamshire Housing Strategy (PDF 0.19MB)

We did

As a result of the consultation some changes were made to the strategy. View the changes made to the Buckinghamshire Housing Strategy (PDF 0.06MB)

On 5 March 2024 Cabinet approved the proposed amendments to the strategy.

On 17 April 2024 Buckinghamshire Council approved the Buckinghamshire Housing Strategy 2024 – 2029 (PDF 20MB).

Overview

We want to hear your views on our draft Housing Strategy for Buckinghamshire.

We want everyone to have a suitable, secure and affordable place to live – our Housing Strategy shows what we will do to make this happen.

The strategy sets out:

the housing challenges and opportunities in Buckinghamshire
our approach to tackling housing needs
how we will work together with all the partners involved in delivering housing in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire Council is not itself a housing landlord – we do not let or manage any affordable housing. Instead, we play a role in enabling new affordable housing development and ensuring that Registered Providers and private landlords provide an affordable and well maintained housing stock.

This will be Buckinghamshire’s first countywide Housing Strategy.

We want to hear your views on our draft priorities and actions.

Priorities and actions

To achieve the strategy, we have created 3 equally important draft priorities:

responding to the needs of our diverse population
better homes: good quality, sustainable and matched to need
new homes: affordable, accessible and appropriate

Each priority includes:

what we will do to achieve it
the challenges Buckinghamshire faces
actions we are doing now
proposed actions for up to 2029

How the strategy has been developed How the strategy has been developed

The strategy has been developed with a wide range of partners and we will continue working together to deliver it.

We have:

built on the work of the Buckinghamshire Affordable Housing Statement adopted in May 2022.
worked with housing and voluntary organisations to better understand key housing issues in Buckinghamshire
reviewed population information and housing information to understand demand, conditions and affordability.

Other strategies supporting housing in Buckinghamshire Other strategies supporting housing in Buckinghamshire

The Housing Strategy is one of our plans to make sure everyone has a suitable, secure and affordable place to live.

Our other plans and policies include:

Allocations Policy – by which we let affordable housing in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2022 to 2025 – which sets out priorities for both preventing and tackling homelessness
Buckinghamshire Tenancy Strategy – which sets out what we expect from our registered housing providers for the tenancies and rent levels of affordable housing

How to have your say

You can tell us your views in one of the following ways:

complete the online survey using the link at the end of the page
complete, and return, a printed version of the survey (PDF 0.26MB)
email us at housingconsulteecomments@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
write to us at Housing Strategy Consultation, Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.

If you have any questions about this consultation, please email us at housingconsulteecomments@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

We have extended the timescales of this consultation. Please tell us your views by midnight on Thursday 18 January 2024.

What happens next

We will review all the responses we receive and use this feedback to update the Housing Strategy. The strategy will then be presented to Buckinghamshire Council’s Council for approval. The feedback will also be used to guide and inform the annual Housing Strategy action plans.

Privacy

We will use the information you provide here only for this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details. For more information about data and privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Or write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.

Areas

Amersham
Aylesbury
Beaconsfield and Chepping Wye
Beeches
Buckingham and Villages
Chesham and Villages
Denham, Gerrards Cross and Chalfonts
Haddenham and Waddesdon
High Wycombe
Missendens
North West Chilterns
South West Chilterns
Wendover
Wexham and Ivers
Wing and Ivinghoe
Winslow and Villages

Interests

Planning
Housing
Communities
Corporate & legal

Contact