Purpose

Updates to the Statement of Community
Involvement setting out how we will carry out engagement for the
Local Plan.

Content

The Statement of Community
Involvement (SCI) was a protocol for how local authorities would
engage with their communities in the preparation of Local
Development Documents (LDDs) such as local and neighbourhood plans,
and the consideration of planning applications and planning
enforcement matters.
 
The SCI was a document that the
Council was required by law to produce and keep up to date to
ensure effective community involvement at all stages in the
planning process. This could be amended from time to time to take
account to changes to the delivery timetable i.e. from government
legislation.
 
The Council received legal
advice from King’s Counsel (KC) in July 2025, which explained
that the existing Buckinghamshire SCI implied that Council was
committed to consultation on a ‘full’ (entire) draft of
the Local Plan at the Regulation 18 stage and that the consultation
might occur in stages, which was contrary to what the Council was
proposing to consult on at Regulation 18 stage.
 
Following the legal advice
received from KC, it was proposed to amend the SCI to ensure that
the local plan making process remained robust and avoided the
potential of legal challenge, which could cause unnecessary delay,
by amending it to clarify that at Regulation 18 stage, the Council
would consult on parts of the draft local plan, and that the
Council would not be consulting on the entirety of the draft local
plan. 
 
The Council would continue to
prepare evidence to inform the development of a ‘full’
plan for the Regulation 19 stage.
 
RESOLVED that the revised Statement of Community Involvement
(SCI) be adopted.