South East Plan

The South East Plan was formally published by the Secretary of State on 6 May 2009. Subject to a 6-week period for legal challenge, the plan now constitutes the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for South East England and part of the statutory development plan for all Districts in the region, including Wycombe.

As part of the development plan, the South East Plan now sets the framework for the Wycombe Development Framework and for all planning decisions in the District.

The main points from the plan are summarised below:

Housing: The plan says local authorities should allocate 654,000 new homes between 2006-26 (32,700 per year). Wycombe District's housing allocation for the period 2006-26 is 7,800, equating to 390 homes per annum.

Regional Hub Status: High Wycombe is designated as a Regional Hub. This reflects it's importance as:

• a service centre,
• a focus for economic activity, and
• a strategic location in transport terms.

The main objective of Regional Hub status is:

• to promote more sustainable (ie accessible and high density) forms of development, and
• to act as a focus for investment in transport infrastructure.
• Transport: The High Wycombe Coachway scheme is identified as one of the Strategic Transport Infrastructure Priorities in the plan (albeit that funding approval is awaited from the Department for Transport). This means that it is recognised as a regionally significant scheme.

Renewable Energy: New developments of more than 10 homes or 1,000m2 of non-residential floorspace should secure at least 10 per cent of their energy from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources unless, having regard to the type of development involved and its design, this is not feasible or viable.

See below to view the South East Plan in full.