Magnolia Farm | The Stoke Poges Task Force

Magnolia Farm 99 new homes – Questions to ask

This page is about the proposed Magnolia Farm development. It is not directly related to the Farnham Park Trust.

However, the proposal could have significant implications for Stoke Poges and its residents. Ahead of the public exhibition on Thursday 3 September, between 2pm and 7pm at Stoke Poges Village Centre, we have put together some questions residents may wish to ask the developers.

The proposal is at an early stage. No planning application for the proposed 99 homes has yet been submitted, so this is a good opportunity to understand the case being made for the development — and what it would mean for the village.

At the exhibition

You do not need to be a planning expert to ask a useful question.

Short questions are often the best ones. Ask for a clear answer. If the answer is that something will be dealt with later as part of the planning application, ask what the developer is currently proposing.

And listen carefully to the answers.

The exhibition is an opportunity for residents to understand the case for 99 homes at Magnolia Farm before the planning application is submitted.

1. Why Magnolia Farm?

Is Magnolia Farm allocated for housing in the emerging Buckinghamshire Local Plan?
If not, why should 99 homes be built here when Buckinghamshire says its housing requirement can be met without allocating Green Belt land for housing?
Why 99 homes? What evidence or planning constraint produces that number?
Apart from the fact that this land is available to the developer, why is Magnolia Farm the right place for these 99 homes?

Why ask?

Buckinghamshire is currently preparing its new Local Plan under the changed national planning-policy framework. Magnolia Farm is not proposed as a housing allocation. The developer points to Buckinghamshire's very substantial overall housing requirement. But the emerging Local Plan is precisely the process through which the Council is deciding where that housing should go. It is therefore reasonable to ask why development should take place on this particular unallocated site.

2. What does “provisional Grey Belt” actually mean?

Is Magnolia Farm still Green Belt?
Who has identified the site as provisional Grey Belt, and what exactly was assessed?
Does provisional Grey Belt status mean that the site has been allocated or approved for housing?
Which Green Belt purposes has the site been assessed as not strongly contributing to?

Why ask?

“Grey Belt” does not mean that land has ceased to be Green Belt, nor does identification as Grey Belt itself grant planning permission.

The developer's website carefully describes Magnolia Farm as “provisional Grey Belt”. Residents may therefore want to understand exactly what has — and has not — been determined.

3. How do 12 homes become 99?

The two Permissions in Principle cover a total of 12 homes on two parts of Magnolia Farm. What planning basis is there for extending that to 99 homes across the wider site?
Do you accept that the Permissions in Principle establish residential development only for those 12 homes on those particular areas?
If the Permissions in Principle are relevant evidence in favour of 99 homes, what weight should be given to the fact that the wider site has not been allocated for housing?

Why ask?

Permission in Principle has been granted for five homes on one part of Magnolia Farm and seven on another.

Those decisions are relevant, but they are not planning permission for 99 homes across the larger site. The proposed development will require its own planning application and assessment.

4. What additional infrastructure will actually be provided?

Are you proposing any additional GP capacity?
Are you proposing any additional school capacity?
Are you proposing improvements to public transport?
What improvements to roads, junctions, walking and cycling infrastructure will be provided?
If no significant additional capacity is being provided, is the proposal based on 99 additional households relying principally on Stoke Poges' existing infrastructure?

Why ask?

It is easy to say that developer contributions will be made. The more important question for residents is what additional capacity those contributions will actually produce.

A financial contribution is not, by itself, another GP appointment, a school place or an additional bus service.

5. What about all the other proposed developments?

Which other proposed developments around Stoke Poges will be included in your assessment of traffic and infrastructure impacts?
Will the cumulative effects on roads, schools, healthcare and other services be assessed rather than considering these 99 homes in isolation?
Are you coordinating your assumptions with the promoters of other significant proposed developments?

Why ask?

Magnolia Farm is not the only development proposal affecting this area.

The relevant question for residents is not simply whether the existing infrastructure could accommodate one individual development when considered alone, but what happens when reasonably foreseeable developments are considered together.

6. What makes this a “sustainable location”?

The developer describes Magnolia Farm as having the potential to provide homes in a “sustainable location.”

What precisely makes this location sustainable for 99 additional households?
Which everyday services would residents realistically be able to reach without a car?
What proportion of journeys generated by the development do you expect to be made by private car?
What safe and continuous walking and cycling routes are you relying upon?

Why ask?

“Sustainable” should mean more than simply being within reach of existing settlements. Residents are entitled to understand the assumptions about how people living in the proposed development would actually travel to work, school, shops, healthcare and other services.

7. Who are these homes for?

The developer says that without enough housing, local people can be priced out of their own community.

How many of the 99 homes would be affordable housing?
What types of affordable housing would be provided?
How many would realistically be affordable to households on typical local incomes?
Would any homes be prioritised for people with a connection to Stoke Poges?
If not, how would this development specifically address local people being priced out of their community?