Parts of Bucks are paved in gold judging by house prices.

According to the results of latest research by Savills published on Tuesday, property values in places like Beaconsfield, Taplow, Burnham, Stoke Poges, Fulmer, Gerrards Cross and Iver are not far below those in the poshest parts of London.

A total of 6,682 houses, equivalent to 22.6 per cent of the homes – close enough to one in five lining the streets in the former South Bucks District Council area – would fetch £1 million or more if they came on the market.

The tally in South Bucks is the seventh highest concentration of £1m-plus homes in the UK.

Top spot in the ratings drawn up by Savills goes to Kensington and Chelsea where more than a third of the property – 32,979 houses or 37.6 per cent of the total – are in the million-plus bracket.

The City of London is runner up with 36.2 per cent or 2,355 houses in the hierarchy. Westminster is third.

In tenth place is the former Chiltern District Council area of Bucks (Amersham, Chesham, Great Missenden, the Chalfonts) where 5,758 homes, or 14.4 per cent of the properties, are worth seven figures a pop.

Only three local authority areas outside London – the other is Elmbridge in Surrey – have the dubious distinction of being places where the children of local families are likely to have the hardest struggle to get on the property ladder in their home patch without a helping hand from mum and dad.

Nationally the number of £1m-plus homes increased last year by eight per cent to 563,200 – the first time the total has risen since 2015 prior to the EU Referendum.

Despite the hike in the past six years, the million-plus price tag is still a relative rarity in many parts of the country, says Richard Maby, Savills head of house sales (at the Marlow office.

He said: “It represents just 1.8 per cent of housing stock overall.”

Not surprisingly more than half the homes on the market for a million or more in the UK are in London. The south east, which includes south Bucks, accounts for 22 per cent.

Buckinghamshire Council, the overarching local authority now acting for former district councils in the county, put out a call for brownfield sites this week.

Over the next five weeks council planners want to hear from anyone with a site they deem suitable for redevelopment.

They are hoping for a good response from parish councils, land owners, developers, agents, local businesses, groups, organisations, individuals anyone – that’s how keen they are. Deadline for info is 5pm on March 22. The number to call is 0300 131 6000.

Warren Whyte, Bucks Council’s cabinet member for planning, hopes the initiative will lead to “positive solutions for the growth needed for future generations” without spoiling our much prized countryside.