Buckinghamshire reorganised in 2020: the four old districts became a single unitary council, so one authority now decides everything from a Beaconsfield Green Belt extension to an Aylesbury loft. Milton Keynes remains separate.
Buckinghamshire Council, a unitary authority created in April 2020 by merging Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe district councils with the county council. One planning authority now covers the whole area, which has simplified the administration considerably — though the legacy Local Plans of the four former districts continue to carry weight in their own areas until fully replaced.
Milton Keynes City Council is a separate unitary authority and has been since 1997. A Milton Keynes project is decided entirely independently of Buckinghamshire Council, under its own plan and validation list.
A great deal of it. The Chilterns National Landscape covers most of the south of the county, taking in Amersham, Chesham, Great Missenden, Marlow and the wooded valleys around High Wycombe. Within it and within its setting, schemes are assessed on landscape and visual impact — prominence in views from the escarpment, roof form, and the use of local materials such as flint, brick and clay tile.
The Metropolitan Green Belt covers much of the former South Bucks and Chiltern districts, including Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Denham and Iver. Extensions there are tested against whether they are a disproportionate addition to the original dwelling, and replacement dwellings against whether they are materially larger than the building they replace. Where Green Belt and Chilterns overlap — as across much of Amersham and Beaconsfield — both tests apply.
The larger home extension prior approval route, which allows 6 and 8 metre single-storey rear extensions elsewhere, is unavailable on designated land. In practice that removes it from a substantial share of the county, and pushes schemes toward a full householder application at £548 with a proper design justification.
| Package | Fixed fee | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials — measured survey, existing and proposed plans | 14–20 working days | |
| Loft conversion package — survey, plans, sections, elevations | 14–20 working days | |
| Mansard / roof rebuild package | 18–24 working days | |
| Complete — planning plus building regulations drawings | 20–28 working days |
Buckinghamshire Council, a single unitary authority created in April 2020 from Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe district councils plus the county council. Milton Keynes is a separate unitary authority and has been since 1997.
Much of southern Buckinghamshire is, including Amersham, Chesham, Great Missenden, Marlow and the valleys around High Wycombe. Inside it and in its setting, schemes are assessed on landscape and visual impact and on the use of local materials.
Not on designated land, which rules it out across a large share of the county. Where the property is outside the National Landscape and any conservation area, the route allows 6 metres on a terraced or semi-detached house and 8 metres on a detached house for £249.
Often yes, provided the replacement is not materially larger than the building it replaces. That test is applied on volume and footprint, so a like-for-like replacement with better internal planning is far easier to justify than an enlargement.
Send the postcode. We confirm the Chilterns and Green Belt position and the application route before quoting.
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