Core Strategy
Chiltern District Council has developed the Core Strategy of its Local Development Framework. The strategy sets out the overall vision to guide building development in the district and identifies sites for this development. Following a final round of consultation between September and November 2010, the District Council submitted the Core Strategy to the Secretary of State. An examination was conducted during April 2011 by an independent inspector to determine whether the Core Strategy was sound. Chesham Town Council participated in a number of sessions of the hearing to talk about issues affecting Chesham, including economic development, infrastructure and major developed sites in the Green Belt allocated for housing development. Following amendments, the District Council published its final version of the Core Strategy on the 15th November 2011. This can be viewed on Chiltern District Council's web site: www.chiltern.gov.uk. A hard copy is available to view at Chesham Town Hall.
Previous Activity on the Core Strategy:
A previous draft of the strategy was published in September 2010 and Chiltern District Council held a period of public consultation on it until 26th November 2010. The major change to the document from the earlier draft was that the overall housing target for the district between 2006 and 2026 has decreased from 2,900 to 2,400 houses and that whilst the majority of development will still take place in Chesham, Amersham, Chalfont St. Peter and Little Chalfont there will no longer be individual targets for each of these settlements.
In Chesham, one key site has been identified for development: the Amersham & Wycombe College site on Lycrome Road.
Chesham Town Council held a public meeting on Monday 8th November to look at the latest draft of the Core Strategy, with a view to informing the public and to formulate a consultation response on the strategy. You can download the minutes here (PDF, 164 KB). Following the meeting the Council formulated its consultation response, which you can view here (PDF, 63 KB).
Earlier Drafts and Consultation
The District Council published the first draft of the Core Strategy in March 2010, which was followed by a consultation period which closed on the 23rd April 2010. A new draft was produced in September 2010 as a result of the consultation feedback and changes in the planning process introduced by the new government.
A public meeting was held by the Town Council on the 15th March 2010, so that people could come and find out more about the strategy and raise any concerns they may have. A number of issues were discussed, such as housing densities, protection of the Green Belt, environmental impact, affordable housing and the impact on the community. The minutes of the meeting can be downloaded here: Public Meeting Minutes (PDF, 159 KB).
Local resident Brenda Collins collated Chesham residents' comments to provide an overall response from the town. The Town Council also provided a response, as did the local river conservation partnership, Impress the Chess and the revitalisation group, Chesham Action Partnership.
Chesham Town Council consultation response (PDF, 142 KB)
Chesham Community consultation response (PDF, 68 KB)
Impress the Chess consultation response (PDF, 18 KB)
Chesham Action Partnership consultation response (PDF, 103 KB)