6.1. The Neighbourhood Plan will be implemented through Buckinghamshire Council consideration and determination of planning applications for development in the parish. The Parish Council will monitor the effectiveness of the policies through the development management process. 

Development Management

6.2. The Parish Council will use a combination of the Local Plan and this Neighbourhood Plan policies to inform and determine its planning application decisions. The Parish Council is a statutory consultee on planning applications made in the parish and it will be made aware of any future planning applications or alterations to those applications by the planning authority. It will seek to ensure that the Neighbourhood Plan policies have been identified and applied correctly by applicants and by officers in their decision reports.

6.3. Where necessary, the Parish Council may seek to persuade the Secretary of State to call-in a planning application that it considers is in conflict with the Neighbourhood Plan but which the planning authority has deemed to consent. Similarly, it may also seek to persuade the Secretary of State to recover an appeal of a refused application, where the conflict with one or more Neighbourhood Plan policies has been important in the reasons for refusal. In both cases, the Parish Council will do so if it considers matters of national policy significance (for neighbourhood planning) are raised. The success or otherwise of the policies will feed into the assessment of the need for a review of the Plan.

Local Infrastructure Improvements

6.4. Initial consultations with local residents and users of local facilities demonstrated the importance of infrastructure improvements including community facilities. Opportunities may arise through S106 agreements or through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to secure financial contributions to invest in improving local infrastructure. When the Neighbourhood Plan is made, the Parish Council will be able to determine how and where 25% of the CIL collected from schemes in the parish is spent (currently only 15%).

6.5. The Parish will prioritise the following in spending CIL funds:

  • Sustainable travel improvement projects – focussing on key locations.
  • Village centre public realm enhancements.
  • The enhancement of existing indoor and outdoor community facilities, such as the Hall, play areas, the George Pitcher Memorial Ground, The Park etc.
  • Projects to enhance sustainability and biodiversity; including retrofitting buildings to improve their energy efficiency and the cost of running these buildings.
  • Measures to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour such as additional CCTV.
  • These should be long-term sustainable projects, rather than short-term or maintenance tasks.

6.6. Buckinghamshire Council has control over the expenditure of its 75% of CIL. The Parish Council expresses the following projects as preferences for funding allocation, which Buckinghamshire Council may wish to take into consideration:

  • Provision of a non-selective secondary school for Burnham.
  • Enhancement of local health provision in Burnham.
  • Larger scale road improvements such as:
    • Addressing flooding, particularly on roads under bridges.Improved safe pedestrian access on Hitcham Road.Improved safe road crossings in the village centre.Improvements to Farnham Lane.Road safety and pedestrian improvements to the northern part of Stomp Road.
    • Improved safe pedestrian routes and road crossings in and near the village centre
  • Further sustainable travel improvement projects, including maintaining and developing the footpath network and improving cycle provision.

6.7. The Parish Council recommends Slough Council seek to advance these projects which affect Burnham Parish:

  • A cycleway to Burnham Station along Burnham Lane.
  • Improving safety at the crossing from the Priory Estate across Huntercombe Lane North.
  • Improvements to Farnham Lane to better accommodate existing levels of traffic, including heavy traffic.

Other Non-Planning Matters

6.8. During the process of preparing the Neighbourhood Plan, there have been many ideas for improving or addressing current problems in the parish that lie outside the scope of the land use planning system to control. The Parish Council has noted these issues and will take them forward through its day-to-day business and in partnership with the local community and relevant parties. These include:

  • Traffic management on the high street, especially of heavy goods vehicles.
  • Stronger enforcement of existing planning regulations.
  • Protection of existing verges.
  • Addressing crime and anti-social behaviour.
  • The further protection of mature trees.
  • Addressing fly-tipping in the Parish.