Challenge to 170 new homes dismissed at High Court

Maids Moreton, on the edge of Buckingham, is a village of thatched cottages and mid-20th Century homes

A High Court judge has dismissed a pair of legal challenges aimed at blocking the construction of 170 new homes.

Environmental charity WildFish claimed Buckinghamshire Council unlawfully approved changes to the development in Maids Moreton without adequate consultation and failed to assess sewage risks that it claimed could pollute nearby rivers.

A separate challenge by resident Jane Wood focused about biodiversity, arguing that nature gains had been overstated and councillors were misled.

However the judge, Justice Lang DBE, ruled the council had followed planning law and said the development could go ahead on the condition no homes were occupied until sewage upgrade work was completed.

WildFish claimed the council should have carried out a fresh environmental screening and warned that the local sewage system could not cope with the extra demand.

It warned this could lead to untreated waste entering nearby waterways such as the River Great Ouse.

Ms Wood also argued the planning officers' report was "significantly misleading" and "insufficiently investigated".

She said biodiversity figures were overstated and councillors were misled about the nature gains.

Both challenges were dismissed and the ruling clears the way for the development, which was first granted outline permission in 2022.