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The Buckinghamshire Local Investment Plan

The future of local delivery vehicles has come into sharp focus following the Comprehensive Spending Review.  In Aylesbury Vale local Authorities value the role that AVA has played in helping deliver local priorities.  Similarly the Minister for Housing and Local Government has recently written to all local delivery vehicles in appreciation of the work undertaken to date and encouraging the take up of acquired skills and knowledge as part of the new approach to local growth.  Partners are keen to ensure that AVA activity continues past March 2011 to ensure that the Vale is best placed to benefit from new working arrangements and to have an orderly and effective handover.

The Government announced the first wave of Local Enterprise Partnerships following publication of the Local Growth White Paper in November 2010.  AVA is currently preparing two Regional Growth Funds bids for employment promotion at Silverstone and electricity provision for Aylesbury. The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership will shortly consider adding their support to these funding bids.

A new affordable housing scheme is underway in Aylesbury with the start of the Homes and Communities Agency’s ‘Design for Manufacture’ development adjoining the TA Centre on Oxford Road.  The development introduces new procurement, manufacture and design methods for Aylesbury.

Over the coming  months the work of AVA’s Infrastructure Planning Group will continue to identify and resolve gaps in the evidence / knowledge base (technical /financial/ strategic) in support of local priority projects identified within the Buckinghamshire Local Investment Plan and the development of AVDC’s new planning policy.

 There have been a number of fast moving developments in recent weeks, all of which have an impact on the future growth and direction of Aylesbury Vale.

 The coalition government’s decision to scrap regional strategies and related housing targets has resulted in Aylesbury Vale’s district councillors debating the issues that arise from that decision at their council meeting in September. Following that councillors will reach a view on the level of growth they wish to see in the Vale.

 In the meantime,  the planning inspector considering the area’s Core Strategy has issued an interim report which indicates he favours growth in some areas but has concerns over others.  He has asked the council for its views on this as well as  the government’s regional strategy announcements.

 Consequently the final report on the Core Strategy will be delayed beyond the original September target date.

 None of this means, of course, that growth will cease in Aylesbury Vale. We need growth if we are going to improve our infrastructure, create new jobs and support the fantastic facilities, such as the new theatre and shopping developments.

 At AVA we will continue to play our part in delivering that growth and the economic benefits it brings. We will also do all we can to ensure it is delivered in a sustainable and integrated way, so that the whole of the Vale benefits.

Despite the long recession and the slow recovery, Aylesbury Vale continues to progress. Work  is due to begin in the summer on the Berryfields housing development to the north west of Aylesbury, and plans are being submitted for the final phase of the successful housing development at Weedon Hill.

The recession has affected our housing delivery target, but not as severely as other areas of the country, reflecting the underlying attraction of the Vale. Further phases of development are continuing at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the former Princess Mary hospital site in Wendover.

That will be followed by the next generation of growth sites that have recently been debated at the local development framework inquiry.

The town centre redevelopment continues apace, and the stunning new Waterside Theatre opens in the autumn with a series of sparkling productions.

We continue to play a key role in helping deliver transport improvements in the Vale, and to plan the transport infrastructure required for future developments. On a practical level we are happy to have been able to play a part in delivering new lifts at Aylesbury Station – a facility that will be particularly appreciated when athletes from around the world arrive for the Paralympics Games events being held at Stoke Mandeville in 2012.