
Introduction and Background
1.0 Burnham Parish Council is preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for the area designated by the local planning authority, Buckinghamshire Council previously South Bucks District Council, on 17 May 2018. The area coincided with the Parish Boundary as of the time of designation (see Plan A). The Burnham Neighbourhood Plan area includes 7 houses that are separated from Burnham by the M4. These houses were in Burnham Parish up to 1st March 2025, and from that date moved to Dorney Parish. The two Parishes have agreed to proceed on the existing neighbourhood plan boundaries and will continue to work together on any issues affecting this area. The plan is being prepared in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations of 2012 (as amended).
1.1 The purpose of the Neighbourhood Plan is to set out a series of planning policies that will be used to determine planning applications in the area in the period to 2045. The Plan will form part of the development plan for the parish, alongside the policies of the adopted South Bucks Local Plan 1999 and the adopted South Bucks Core Strategy 2011. The Local Plan and Core Strategy policies will eventually be replaced by the first Buckinghamshire Local Plan, which is also expected to run to 2045.
1.2 Neighbourhood Plans provide local communities with the chance to manage the quality of development of their areas. Once approved at a referendum, the Plan becomes part of the Council’s statutory development plan and will carry significant weight in how planning applications are decided in the neighbourhood area. Plans must therefore contain only land use planning policies that can be used for this purpose. This often means that important issues of interest to the local community cannot be addressed in a Plan if they are not directly related to planning. Although there is scope for the local community to decide on its planning policies, Neighbourhood Plans must meet all relevant basic conditions (see Figure 1 overleaf).
1.3 In addition, the Parish Council will need to demonstrate to an independent examiner that it has successfully engaged with the local community and stakeholders in preparing the Plan. If the examiner is satisfied that it has and considers the Plan meets the above conditions, then the Plan will go to a referendum of the local electorate. If a simple majority (over 50%) of the turnout votes in favour of the Plan, then it becomes adopted as formal planning policy for the area.
The Submission Plan
1.4 A draft (‘Pre-Submission’) Plan was published for consultation in October 2024 in line with the Regulations. The Parish Council has reviewed the comments received from the local community and other interested parties, including Buckinghamshire Council, and have made changes to this final version.

Strategic Environmental Assessment & The Habitats Regulations
1.5 A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) assesses the environmental implications of a proposed policy or plan. It allows for the cumulative effects of development and policies to be assessed and addresses any identified issues at an early stage. A screening request was submitted to Buckinghamshire Council for this purpose in accordance with the Environmental Assessment of Plans & Programmes Regulations 2004 (as amended). Buckinghamshire Council issued a screening opinion in November 2024 which has confirmed that an SEA is not required. The Basic Conditions Statement which will be submitted alongside the Submission Plan will summarise how the neighbourhood plan contributes to the achievement of sustainable development.
1.6 The request also seeks Buckinghamshire Council’s opinion on the requirement to prepare a Habitats Regulations Assessment as per the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended). The screening report in November 2024 confirmed that a Habitats Regulations Assessment of the neighbourhood plan will not be required.
The Next Steps
1.7 This Plan will be submitted to Buckinghamshire Council for a further consultation and to arrange for its examination by an independent examiner and subsequent referendum, if the examiner is satisfied that the draft plan meets the basic conditions.