Draft Buckinghamshire Design Code consultation

Overview

We want to hear your views on the draft Buckinghamshire Design Code for new developments in Buckinghamshire.

The Design Code sets out county-wide design requirements for all new development to ensure that new development in Buckinghamshire is of high quality.

The requirements in the Design Code will give applicants greater certainty about the council’s expectations for the approach to design and the quality of outcomes.

The Design Code is not location specific. For larger developments, applicants will be required to prepare detailed location specific design codes or guides to support their developments.

How we developed the Design Code How we developed the Design Code

Much of the content of the Design Code has come from existing local design guidance, including the Aylesbury Vale Design Guide and the Wycombe District Residential Design Guidance.

The design codes have also been developed with regard to the content and principles contained in national design guidance.

Relationship of the Design Code with the new Local Plan for Buckinghamshire Relationship of the Design Code with the new Local Plan for Buckinghamshire

The Design Code will compliment and work together with design related policy in the new Local Plan for Buckinghamshire.

The Design Code will sit as an appendix to the local plan and be directly linked to policy. The Design Code will have the same weight as local plan policy in decision making.

How to have your say

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

the preferred method is to complete the online survey using the link at the end of the page.

Alternatively you can:

complete and return a printed version of the survey (PDF, 378KB)
write to us at Draft Buckinghamshire Design Code, Planning Policy, Buckinghamshire Council, Walton Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1UA
email us at planningpolicyteam.bc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

If you have any questions about this activity, or require this information in another format or language, please email us at planningpolicyteam.bc@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Please tell us your views by 11:59pm on 12 May 2026.

What happens next

We will use the feedback you provide in this consultation to update the Buckinghamshire Design Code, which will be published as part of the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire for final feedback in July 2026. The Design Code and the Local Plan and any amendments will then be submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate in December 2026.

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. Survey responses will be analysed using Microsoft products including Copilot, Excel and Word. 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.

Give us your views

Online Survey

Areas

All Areas

Interests

Planning