The Strategic Sites Committee of Buckinghamshire Council was scheduled to discuss a significant hybrid planning application for a residential-led mixed-use development in Gomm Valley, High Wycombe. The meeting's agenda focused primarily on this application, which had previously been dismissed at appeal due to highway concerns.

Gomm Valley Planning Application (PL/25/2353/FA)

The main item scheduled for discussion was a hybrid planning application for the Gomm Valley site in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. This application sought planning permission for a large-scale development comprising up to 544 dwellings, a primary school, employment land, and associated green infrastructure. The application was presented as a hybrid, meaning it included both full planning permission for an initial phase of 79 dwellings and outline permission for the remaining elements, with details such as layout, scale, and access to be determined later.

The report pack indicated that the principle of development for this site was established through its allocation in the Wycombe District Local Plan (2019) under Policy HW6. However, a key material consideration for this application was a previous appeal decision in September 2024 that dismissed a similar scheme primarily on grounds of highway safety and capacity impacts on the A40 corridor and the Gomm Road junction.

The current application aimed to address these previous highway concerns through revised traffic modelling, including microsimulation analysis. The report detailed a comprehensive package of proposed mitigation measures, to be secured through a Section 106 legal agreement, which included contributions towards A40 corridor improvements, traffic calming on Orchard Road, and enhancements to public transport, footpaths, and cycle routes.

The application also proposed a specific tenure mix for affordable housing, with 48% of the total dwellings designated as affordable. This included a split of 60% affordable rent, 15% shared ownership, and 25% discounted market sale (DMS). The report noted a deviation from the council's preferred tenure mix, with DMS being proposed in place of First Homes, and discussed the applicant's justification for this approach, citing the need for timely delivery and the potential for a greater discount.

Further details were provided on the proposed design and layout of the development across various parcels, addressing the site's topography through extensive earthworks and retaining structures. The plans included provision for a one-form entry primary school, employment land, and significant areas of open space and green infrastructure, aiming to achieve a biodiversity net gain exceeding statutory requirements.

The report also outlined relevant planning policies, including those related to housing mix, affordable housing, landscape, placemaking, design, amenity, ecology, flood risk, and infrastructure contributions. The recommendation was to defer and delegate the decision to the Director of Planning and Environment to grant planning permission, subject to the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement and the imposition of planning conditions.

The report pack also included extensive consultation responses from various stakeholders, including local councillors, parish councils, statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency and Natural England, and numerous third-party representations from residents and local groups. These responses highlighted a wide range of concerns, particularly regarding traffic impacts, highway safety, parking, loss of green space, biodiversity, flood risk, air quality, noise, and pressure on local services. The report also contained the full text of the previous appeal decision, which provided significant context for the current application.