Two houses could be built along Amersham's Whielden Street

The notion, which has been submitted by Walsingham Planning in Bourne End under the instructions of Jeremy and Chris Caine, could see two properties appear along Whielden Street in the town.

If approved, the properties will be situated at the bottom of numbers 60 to 64, and by numbers one to three Alpha Court, which is based on the same street.

Following the pre-application, which was given to the council in January 2024, an initial response was received that confirmed the proposed dwellings ‘would be acceptable in principle’, despite some opposition from locals.

What both properties could look like (Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

The most recent application, which was submitted to Buckinghamshire Council on September 30, seeks full planning permission for two new detached houses located to the northeast of Alpha Court in the existing built-up area of Amersham.

If granted permission, one of the properties will be a one-bedroom house with a courtyard garden, whilst the second home will be a part single, part two-storey, three-bed house with a garden to the rear.

Parking will be accommodated for both houses to the rear of Alpha Court and to the front of the proposed one of the properties, adjacent to its landscaped front garden.

The existing site comprises a mix of hardstanding and open land, and currently, the site slopes steeply upwards from northwest to southeast.

Additionally, the site sits immediately to the southwest of the boundary of the Amersham Old Town Conservation Area.

An artists drawing of one of the houses (Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

This is bound to the southeast by the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Green Belt.

If the houses do get built, they will be near a selection of Grade II Listed buildings such as numbers 60, 62, 64 and 66 Whielden Street, whilst the Friends Meeting House and Whielden Cottage, opposite the application site, are also Grade II Listed.

One negative would be is that the site is situated within a Zone 1 Flood Area, making it a low risk for flooding.

A segment of the planning application reads: “Sufficient parking will be provided for the dwellings to their frontage and to the rear of Alpha Court, in line with the Development Plan and Countywide Parking Standards (2015).

What the second house could look like (Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

“The development would not give rise to ecological harm, will provide ecological conservation and enhancement, and will provide additional landscaping which will assist in enhancing the existing landscape character of the Whielden Street streetscape, in line with Saved Policy GC4 of the Local Plan.

“Overall, it is considered that the proposed development would comply with the relevant policies within the Development Plan and would accord with guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, and that provided by Historic England, along with the District’s Supplementary Planning Guidance and the Countywide Parking Guidance.”

To see all the planning documents in this application, visit Buckinghamshire Council’s planning portable and search the reference, PL/24/2996/FA.