16/04/2026
🏡Planning Update🏡
Below is a lengthy update on the various proposed development in the village. There is a short Q&A section at the end outlining the main points if you do not have time to read all of this.
🏗️Wider planning context
First, we would like to remind residents that the Parish Council does not approve or refuse planning applications. Our role is as a statutory consultee only. Final decisions are made by Buckinghamshire Council, who assess applications against national and local planning policy.
It is important to understand the wider planning context in which applications are being considered. Buckinghamshire Council has missed housing delivery targets set by successive governments for several years and currently cannot demonstrate a five‑year housing land supply. The current figure is approximately 3.5 years.
This position is made worse by land that already has planning permission but is not being built out by developers for a variety of reasons, often referred to as “land banking”.
Because Buckinghamshire Council cannot currently show a five‑year housing supply, national planning policy applies what is known as the “tilted balance”. In practice, this means that planning decisions are weighted in favour of sustainable development, unless there are strong and defensible planning reasons to refuse an application.
Buckinghamshire Council has also recently completed a Call for Sites, based on a new target to plan for approximately 95,000 homes by 2045. A draft local plan has been produced showing how this target could be achieved across the county.
Further details can be found here:
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/local-planning/buckinghamshire-local-plan/
From a Marsh Gibbon perspective, only one site was identified as suitable for development through this process — the Deansfield site opposite the village hall.
Until Buckinghamshire Council can demonstrate a full five‑year housing supply, the planning balance remains tilted in favour of development, unless there are serious and sustainable planning objections.
🏛️Planning policy and the role of the Parish Council
The Parish Council does not create planning policy for the village.
The principal documents used to assess planning applications are:
-The National Planning Policy Framework
-The Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan
Marsh Gibbon also has a Neighbourhood Plan. This does not give the Parish Council the right to refuse development, but it does help shape the type, design and layout of homes that come forward.
It is also important to note that some policies within the Neighbourhood Plan have been superseded by the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan, which was adopted later and therefore takes precedence where there is a conflict.
Our current Neighbourhood Plan runs until 2031. Over the next year or so we will need to start work on a new version. Starting this now would be premature, as a new Buckinghamshire Local Plan is still being developed and any neighbourhood plan produced now would likely need to be rewritten at significant cost once the Bucks Plan is adopted.
The most pragmatic and responsible approach is therefore to wait for the Bucks Plan to be finalised and then align our new Neighbourhood Plan with it.
📄Planning applications in the village
🏘️Catesby application (90 homes behind Little Marsh Road and Millfield Avenue)
This application was refused by Buckinghamshire Council on comprehensive planning grounds and has now gone to appeal. The appeal will be considered by an independent planning inspector, who will assess the refusal against national policy, including the lack of a five‑year housing supply. The Parish Council and other consultees are not involved in the appeal process. It is entirely for Buckinghamshire Council to legally defend its decision.
🏘️Ewelme sites off Castle Street (15 and 24 homes)
Both applications are still awaiting determination. The Parish Council objected to both schemes on multiple planning grounds. These objections are supported by the draft Buckinghamshire Plan, which identifies these sites as unsuitable for development. Significant concerns were also raised by statutory consultees including Bucks Flooding, Thames Water and Highways, particularly around flooding risk, high water table levels and sewer capacity.
🏘️The Deansfield site (opposite the village hall)
The Deansfield application is also still awaiting a decision by Buckinghamshire Council. However, this site has already been identified as suitable for development through the Buckinghamshire Plan process.
The Parish Council initially objected to this application, mainly due to objections raised by the flood risk consultees. Following the submission of further technical information by the developer, those key consultee objections were withdrawn.
Given:
The site’s identification as suitable in the Bucks Plan process, and
the removal of the main technical objections, the Parish Council did not feel there were sufficient planning grounds to maintain a formal objection. Our response has therefore been changed from “object” to “neutral”.
In our updated response we have still raised important matters we would like Buckinghamshire Council to consider, including:
- Appropriate developer contributions towards education, healthcare and transport infrastructure.
-A requirement for archaeological trial trenching to be completed and reviewed before development begins.
-Ongoing concerns regarding sewage capacity and water supply, despite no objection being raised by Thames Water.
We also acknowledged some positives within the proposal:
-It is a full, detailed application, rather than an outline scheme, meaning what is approved is what would be delivered.
-The inclusion of bungalows, which could help older residents downsize and remain in the village.
-The provision of a car park for village hall users, helping to reduce on‑street parking pressures
ℹ️Final points
It is important to reiterate that the Parish Council does not approve or refuse applications, and changing our response to neutral does not mean this proposal will automatically be approved.
Likewise, approval of the Deansfield site does not mean other sites will or will not be approved. Each application is judged on its own merits. Equally, objecting to every proposal does not guarantee development can be prevented.
The Parish Council has always maintained that we are not anti‑development, but that proposals should be assessed fairly, realistically and within the planning framework we are operating in. Marsh Gibbon has welcomed development in the past where it has benefited the village as a whole.
We recognise there are strongly held views on this and other sites, and we fully understand residents’ concerns. However, we must also be honest and pragmatic about the wider planning position we currently face.
Apologies for the length of this update, and thank you for taking the time to read it.
❓ Q & A – Questions
Q: Does the Parish Councils “neutral” response to the Deansfield proposal mean the development will be approved?
A: No. The Parish Council does not approve or refuse planning applications. Our response is only one input among many. The final decision rests entirely with Buckinghamshire Council.
Q: Why didn’t the Parish Council maintain an objection to the Deansfield site?
A: The Council must base its responses on planning policy and technical evidence. Following updated information from the developer, the key consultee objections — particularly around flooding — were removed. As the site has already been identified as suitable in the Bucks Plan process and the county does not currently have a 5‑year housing supply, we did not feel there were sufficient planning grounds to maintain a formal objection.
Q: Does approval of Deansfield mean other sites will definitely go ahead?
A: No. Each planning application is considered individually on its own merits. Approval or refusal of one site does not determine the outcome of others.
Q: Why can’t the Parish Council just object to everything?
A: Objecting without solid planning reasons does not prevent development and can weaken the credibility of future objections. The Parish Council must act responsibly within the planning system, focusing objections where they are justified and defensible.
Q: What can residents do if they object to the development?
A: Residents are encouraged to submit their own comments directly to Buckinghamshire Council through the planning application portal. Public representations are an important part of the decision‑making process.
The Local Plan is the prime consideration when determining planning applications
