RAF Halton Supplementary Planning Document

Hyas worked on behalf of Buckinghamshire Council on the development of the Supplementary Planning Document for RAF Halton, leading the team, and working alongside Alan Baxter. The SPD was adopted in July 2024.

Hyas were commissioned to review work already undertaken by the landowner, the DIO. Our role involved undertaking a baseline review to gain a thorough understanding of the policy context for the site, reviewing Council led documents, alongside work led by the DIO consultant team. The existing work had not been subject to consultation with Council services or taken into account wider consultation and engagement with the community. The existing scheme was therefore not favoured by the Council or the Community, and the scheme was inward looking in its design.

Following this initial review, site visits and workshops led by Hyas were effective at drawing out the key aspirations for the site and were shaped by detailed input from the Council officers alongside Parish Councils and the landowners. Collaboration was a key part of this process the resultant Masterplan has led to a scheme that integrates the existing village with the new development creating a new integrated community that takes account of its existing setting and relationships with adjoining settlements.

The site in Halton, near Wendover, was allocated for 1,000 homes in the Aylesbury Vale Local Plan, with the decommissioning of the RAF Base planned for 2027. The now adopted SPD will form a material consideration in the determination of future planning applications. The development of the masterplan, and policies within the SPD had to take into account the striking landscape setting within the green belt, the impact on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the approach to integration of the site with the existing village of Halton and neighbouring Wendover, and the preservation of the site’s military heritage and retention of listed buildings, including barrack blocks and parade grounds.

The masterplan SPD sets out a detailed framework for how the site will evolve into a new residential neighbourhood of 1,000 homes with a new local centre and 50% green infrastructure, in a manner that retains and incorporates the site's important RAF and Rothschild heritage

Key Deliverables:
• Extensive and collaborative engagement
• Baseline analysis and scoping
• Review of existing work undertaken by landowners
• Visioning and masterplanning