Winslow Green

Latest update 20th April

Greenway Land LLP’s planning application to build a new town on the site of the former wartime airfield between Winslow, Great Horwood and Little Horwood was turned down by Aylesbury Vale District Council at a meeting of the Strategic Development Control Committee on 1st April 2009.
The plans for the new town, ‘Winslow Green’, which would have at least 3,300 houses, 68,000 m2 of office space, shops and a supermarket, were rejected unanimously by the Committee.
In the 12 weeks following the application AVDC received 1,000 letters of objection from members of the public, representing more than 1,100 signatories. The local MP, Mr John Bercow also objected. In addition to the 1,000 letters from the public, objections were received from more than 20 organisations including; every Town and Parish Council in North Buckinghamshire; Bucks County Council; Milton Keynes Partnership; South East England Regional Assembly; Anglian Water; The Environment Agency; CABE and National Rail and the EastWest Rail Consortium who objected to Greenway’s proposed location for a new railway station.
The developers have known all along that their planning application was likely to be turned down given that Aylesbury Vale District Council and the South East Regional Planners had both rejected their previous, similar, submissions for the site.  They have 6 months in which they can appeal against the decision and if they do so this will trigger a public enquiry;  Due to the size of the proposed development the appeal will automatically be dealt with by the Government Planning Inspectorate.  The public enquiry could last between 12-18 months before a recommendation is made to the Secretary of State who will ultimately decide whether to give planning permission or not.  The developers clearly hope that the Government’s enthusiasm for building over swathes of countryside in the South East of England will stand them in good stead.