Duty to cooperate

The Duty to Co-operate (DtC) is a statutory requirement on local planning authorities to co-operate constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis with neighbouring authorities, county councils and other prescribed bodies in planning for strategic cross boundary matters.

Wider area growth study

As a result of Duty to Co-operate work and a successful bid to the MHCLG Joint Working Fund, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM), in conjunction with Slough Borough Council (SBC) and Buckinghamshire Council (BDC), is commissioning a joint study to address issues arising from future growth that is anticipated from the Slough, Maidenhead and Windsor urban area.   

The Wider Area Growth Study is comprised of 2 parts:

Part 1 – Defining the area of search

The first part was commissioned in 2018 and explored the functional geographies associated with the Slough/Maidenhead/Windsor urban cluster.   The Part 1 study was completed in 2019 and identified a geographic area of search for potentially accommodating the future growth needs of the Slough/Maidenhead and Windsor urban cluster.  The identified geographic area of search includes the following local authorities:

  • All of Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead and Hillingdon
  • Parts of Buckinghamshire, Bracknell Forest, Surrey Heath, Runnymede

View the full Part 1 Study. 

Part 2 – Spatial options

The Part 2 work identifies potential strategic spatial options for accommodating future growth and tests those options. It is an evidence base that could be used for consideration in the preparation of future Local Plans and for use in Duty to Cooperate discussions. It does not make recommendations and does not set policy. The work commenced in May 2020 and is now complete.

At the time of publishing the Council has a new adopted Local Plan which meets it's housing needs up until 2033 and has no plans to commence work on a future Local Plan until such time as it is required to do so.

View the full Part 2 Study.
 

Local Housing Needs Assessment

GL Hearn was commissioned by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead in conjunction with Slough Borough Council and Chiltern/South Bucks District Councils to carry out a Local Housing Needs Assessment (LHNA) to inform the emerging Local Plans and to help support Part 2 of the Wider Area Growth Study.

The study looks at the amount and nature of housing need within the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Slough and the southern part of South Bucks and utilises the Standard Methodology to calculate housing need.