HS2 - Latest news

The supreme court has rejected the final outstanding appeals by objectors to the HS2 high-speed rail link, who had claimed the decision-making process was unlawful. See the report here.

HS2 - Latest

Latest

A Supreme Court decision on an appeal against High Speed 2 by Bucks County Council and others is still awaited . Chiltern council leader Nick Rose said the failure to make a Major Projects Authority report on HS2 public is “morally corrupt”. The report is believed to suggest that HS2 is rated “Amber-Red” – in danger of failing. Rose said: “We'd like to express our continued disbelief at the stifling of democracy in this way."

Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross to be new garden city?

The national press has been reporting for some that the government has supressed a report calling for two new garden cities. One would be in Oxfordshire, another in Bucks. Today the Daily Mail reports Eric Pickles is backing the scheme. The newspaper names the locations as Yalding, Kent and Gerrards Cross in Bucks.

Bucks County Council pledged to fight any plans for a garden city at Gerrards Cross, saying it will contravene green belt policy.

Meanwhile, in the Telegraph, Boris Johnson says there is enough brownfield land in London to solve the housing crisis. 

HS2 - Consultation

HS2 - Consultation extended

The consultation on the Environmental Statement has been extended to 10 February after HS2 Ltd failed to distribute 877 pages of documents from electronic versions of the consultation documents. The company had claimed it had corrected the errors by 16 December, but the Commons Standing Orders Committee was told that errors still persisted. HS2 said it was happy to comply with the ruling but claimed:

“The pages that were briefly missing from the Environmental Statement memory sticks would not have prevented anyone from being able to respond to the consultation.”

Stop HS2

HS2 Ltd; HS2 Ltd. 

Wilton Park

Wilton Park redevelopment consultation opens

South Bucks Council has opened its consultation on the development brief for the ex-MoD site at Wilton Park.  

The consultation ends on 28 February. You can access the plans and a response form on the South Bucks website. 

Chalfont Holy Cross

Chalfont Holy Cross plans approved

Controversial plans for nearly 200 new homes and a care home on the site of the former Holy Cross Convent have been given the go-ahead on appeal. The scheme was unanimously thrown out by Chiltern council last year, but a planning inspector has now approved the scheme.

Marlow Flooding

Stoke Poges

Stoke Poges free school thrown out by South Bucks

 

In a decision that is almost bound to end up being challenged in the courts, South Bucks council rejected plans to convert an office block in Stoke Poges into a secondary free school. The Khalsa Secondary Academy would largely have served residents of nearby Slough.

Aylesbury Plan

Green fields threatened as Vale of Aylesbury Plan thrown out

 

A government planning inspector says he wants to throw out the Vale of Aylesbury Plan. He argues that the Plan, which has been some years in preparation, does not allow for enough housing. Aylesbury Vale council had planned for 3,850 new homes and a minimum of 6,000 new jobs by 2031. The inspector says that this is not enough.

HS2 - Colne Valley

Marlow

Developers are aiming to convert a Marlow office block into apartments under the government's new permitted development rights.

Bucks Free Press