The council has “no clue” what to do with plans to build thousands of homes in the district, it is feared, as authorities continue to tackle budget cuts. 

Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Chiltern District Council (CDC), Peter Jones, slammed the “undemocratic” planning process at a meeting of the full council on February 28.

Councillors were urged to read the Local Plan – a 20-year planning proposal for thousands of homes in Bucks - and question how it is going to affect their wards, before it is simply “nodded through” by cabinet.

Cllr Jones said: “When we did the local plan 20 odd years ago, back in previous millennium, the whole thing was basically written by the planning committee, line by line, and that is not how we do things nowadays.

“What I am afraid is happening now is essentially the opposite of writing it – they are going to bounce it by the working group which has no executive responsibilities at all, the cabinet is going to nod it through, then that is going to be that.”

The New Homes Grant, supplied to CDC for each new home constructed, has been slashed by £509,000, and will only be provided to the council once 198 houses have been built.

Cllr Jones said the cuts make the Local Plan process “quite important” however fears CDC “doesn’t really know what it is doing”.

He said: “A bit like your Conservative government doesn’t have a clue what to do about Brexit, I do fear that this council doesn’t really know what it is doing about the Local Plan, and thousands of houses on the green belt.

“Because either that is what you want to do, and you need to start selling it a bit harder, or it is not what you want to do  - in which case you need to make the point much more strongly to your friends in Government.

“We need to decide what we want to do, and announce it accordingly.”

Conservative councillor, Don Phillips, backed councillor Jones who said the planning process is “not workable or acceptable.”

He said: “I have a horrible feeling this will be put together as a consultant then handed down to us as if complete. That is not workable, acceptable, and honestly we should not take that at all.

“We really have to have substantial and informed democratic input from members.”

According to CDC 14,900 homes need to be built across Chiltern and South Bucks by 2036 - however Aylesbury Vale District Council has agreed to provide 5,750 of those homes.

It is hoped the draft Local Plan will be available by May this year.