The AVDC Local Plan encourages housing development where the jobs are, to keep the traffic moving: 50% of jobs in Aylesbury Vale are in Aylesbury. There is little pressure on the villages to develop other than from developers and such development is seen as unnecessary in the Local Plan. Aylesbury, Buckingham, Haddenham, Wendover and Winslow are the focal points for expansion in the Local Plan, which is now adopted.

Wingrave is in an Area of Attractive Landscape (AAL) and two areas of the village around the Church and Recreation Ground (Figure 1), and Nup End (Figure 2) are Conservation Areas (CA).

AALs demand a high level of protection but not as high a level as in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Any development likely to affect the special character, appearance and enjoyment of these areas will not be permitted.

   Figure 1: Recreation Ground

Within and adjacent to a CA, new developments and extensions:

• must follow the existing street pattern,

• should not result in the loss of an open area that contributes to the setting of other buildings,

• should not rely on on-site parking unless this results in no traffic increase.

Wingrave is listed as such a settlement in the Local Plan. In these settlements limited infill may be allowed: no more than five houses on a site not exceeding 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres) will be permitted. Farmyards and buildings should be substantially surrounded by built developments before they can be developed. Special conditions apply to developments at the edge of settlements, these should not extend into open countryside.

    Figure 2: Nup End

Outstanding permissions exist for a further 11 dwellings as of 30/09/03. Two of these have been constructed.

The growth has been caused by a compounding of the increase in the number of houses with the increase in the number of cars per household. This has happened in many AVDC villages resulting in heavy traffic in the village with 500 movements/hr at peak times during the week.

The population increase over the twenty year period is 28.3%, which is much higher than the national average of 4.4% and higher than the AVDC figure of 23.7% which, in turn, is the fourth highest district figure in the UK.

In 2001 the percentages of the population between 20 and 29 and over 60 were lower than AVDC and the national averages, whereas the 30-59 grouping was well above both AVDC and national averages.

The low 20-29 group figure is quite definitely caused by college attendance and subsequent career choice elsewhere in the country. The low elderly population may simply be people moving out of an expensive area to a less expensive area, moving closer to children or moving to areas with more readily available medical care.

The over-65 group has only decreased slightly from 1991-2001 from 13% to 12.5% and as an absolute number has increased from 181 to 197, which one might expect as the general population is ageing.

The school’s catchment is Wingrave ward and, in 2004, is fully booked with children from Wingrave, Cublington, Aston Abbotts, Mentmore and Ledburn. The married sector at 62.8% versus the national average of 50.9% (over 16s) should ensure a flow of students, and the under 16 population is above the national average.

The high average house prices may indicate a need for a reliable two-income position (and hence two cars!) to afford housing in Wingrave where a combined income of £35-47k is required for the average terrace house assuming mortgages are available at 3-4 times salary.

There is an identifiable group of 20-30 young people in Wingrave who would be interested in part-ownership or rental schemes such as the Rural Housing trust, which has built 2427 homes in 33 counties, normally around eight houses per development.

These houses are never put on the open market, but do need “exception” sites agreed by the local community and authorities. Aylesbury Vale has a sympathetic view to these developments.

The water supply is only sufficient for a further 11 houses before a new supply is required. As many villages in the South are in the same position an investment/resource queue may exist for those new supplies. No further development should be permitted until this has been resolved. We have no figures for sewage but the same may apply.