The Planning Inspector who visited the Parish Centre on Glebe Way on 28/1/25 has published their decision to allow the appeal submitted by St. Leonard’s Parochial Church Council, (PCC). The news has been posted on the Bucks. Council planning portal today, link:

PL/22/4074/FA | Redevelopment of the site to create a new multifunctional Parish Centre with cafe, day nursery building, replacement rectory with detached garage, 2 outbuildings to provide prayer room and substation/bin and bicycle store, associated parking and landscaping | St Leonards Church Hall Glebe Way Chesham Bois Buckinghamshire HP6 5ND

The PCC wish to demolish the parish centre and New Rectory in order to build a commercial development to accommodate around 400 people on site and a car park for 114 vehicles in the centre of the Chesham Bois Conservation Area, operating between 07.00 and 23.00 every day of the week.  

Chesham Bois Parish Council is a statutory consultee in planning matters and has opposed the proposed development on behalf of the majority of residents who responded to our survey about the planning application. The survey was distributed to households as a hand delivered leaflet in 2023 soon after the planning application was submitted. The primary reasons that people objected to the planning application were the enormous scale of the proposed public buildings; the car park for more than 100 vehicles; and the hours of operation.

The Parish Council is also an interested party with regard to the planning application as owner of the Common Land surrounding the proposed development site.  Access across Common Land would be required for the proposed development and the Planning Inspector’s rationale for allowing the appeal will be considered at a meeting of the Parish Council. 

Please note the Planning Committee Meeting due be held on Monday 10th February will not go ahead as due to Councillors’ absence the meeting will not be quorate. The meeting of the Council will go ahead as planned at 8 pm.

Biodiversity is the key word in managing our natural environment nowadays; with this in mind the Parish Council sought expert advice as to how to manage Bricky Pond to ensure its biodiversity is protected and improved.
Tests conducted in November revealed that the water quality is currently good. We know that we have toads, frogs and newts breeding there but to encourage more wildlife and invertebrates, it is inadvisable to conduct a thorough clearance of the pond every year. Instead, a small team of Parish Council volunteers have waded in to remove the larger debris and cut back the water margins, but have held back on doing anything more invasive as the toads have already spawned and the newts and frogs will soon follow.
We will be keeping a close eye on the pond to monitor whether this gentler approach is successful. In the meantime, we would ask dog walkers to ensure that their dogs avoid paddling in the pond if at all possible. The products used to keep our dogs, flea, tick and worm free can get into the pond water which is obviously very damaging for all the creatures who live there.

The Chesham Bois Spring Common Clear Up will take place on Saturday 5th April, 10 am – 11.30 am. All volunteers should meet at the Parish Centre Car Park. Litter pickers, gloves and bags and refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you!

The Planning Committee Meeting this evening has been cancelled due to several members of the committee being unable to attend. The meeting will be inquorate and cannot go ahead. The Council meeting at 8 pm will go ahead as planned.

Planning Application PL/22/4074/FA

The Parish Council have received notification that Buckinghamshire Council Planning Authority have challenged the decision to hold a public hearing and the Planning Inspectorate have advised that the appeal will be considered by written representations. Chesham Bois Parish Council will submit a response today and we await the decision of the Planning Inspectorate.