IN PICTURES: Those notable planning applications and decisions in Peterborough that kickstarted 2025

A number of notable planning applications and decisions were published by Peterborough City Council around Christmas and throughout January. Plans to build 650 homes on land that contains the former speedway track at the East of England Showground were controversially given the go ahead on January 13. Meanwhile, Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes spoke out against plans to expand an adult gaming centre in the city. Just before the new year broke, the city council approved the multi-million pound Cygnet Bridge project at Fletton Quays. See below for five of the most notable planning applications and decisions since Christmas and into the new year:

East of England Showground homes:

A controversial decision was made on January 13 to approve the construction of 650 homes at the East of England Showground despite a previous refusal. Members of Peterborough City Council’s appeals and planning review committee voted by a majority to overturn a decision by the council’s planning committee to refuse permission for the new homes. The meeting was called after four councillors had used local authority procedures to call-in the initial decision for a review. The initial decision was overturned despite heavy opposition from residents, councillors and the Peterborough Speedway Consortium who hoped the committee would uphold the earlier refusal. A second outline planning application for 850 homes, a care village, hotel, school and care village at the showground was approved by the planning committee in October.

Adult gaming centre expansion:

Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes spoke out against plans to expand an adult gaming centre on Bridge Street in the first week of January. Ticketgrange Limited, which owns New Horizon Amusements at 26 Bridge Street, resubmitted plans to expand its unit into the adjoining 28-30 Bridge Street. The company’s initial application to expand into the empty unit, which was most recently occupied by The Works, was refused by the city council last year due to issues with the proposed shop front. Mr Pakes spoke out against the previous application. Responding to the latest application, he said: “This latest application to extend the adult gambling store on Bridge Street highlights the need for stronger action and a plan to protect our city centre. “I am concerned about the extension of the store in such close proximity to facilities such as the war memorial, Job Centre and other city facilities." A decision is yet to be made on the application.

Cygnet Bridge:

Plans for a pedestrian footbridge over the River Nene in Peterborough were approved by the city council in late December.

The new structure, which will be named Cygnet Bridge, will link the Fletton Quays development to the Embankment.

It had an initial cost of £6.3 million, but Peterborough City Council asked the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in January to provide additional funding of £2 million - bringing the total cost to £8.3 million.

The bridge will aim to provide pedestrians and cyclists with an alternative route across the river, away from the busy main road, and will create a link from the south of the city to the new university campus.

It was initially hoped that the bridge would be open by this summer, but the completion date has been pushed back a year due to various delays.

Wendy's drive-thru:

Another planning application approved in late December was the construction of a drive-thru road around a Wendy's restaurant in Peterborough. The drive-thru road will be built around the unit at Cygnet Park, Hampton, where the new Wendy's is yet to open. Once open, it will become the second Wendy’s in the city after the opening of a drive-thru at Bourges View business park in Maskew Avenue last October.

Lynch Farm:

The Nene Park Trust resubmitted plans at the start of January to transform the grounds of a historic farmhouse into a dog exercise field with camping for schools.

Lynch Farm is a Grade II listed farmhouse and outbuildings on the edge of Ferry Meadows Country Park in approximately seven acres of paddocks and green space.

A riding school had been run by tenants at the site for 50 years but following its closure, the trust, which took over the site in August 2023, is now hoping to put the grounds back into use.

Matthew Bradbury, CEO of Nene Park Trust, said: “Following a number of public consultations in October we have now submitted our planning application for phase one of our developments at Lynch Farm on the south west side of Ferry Meadows.

“This amended application is a reflection of the feedback we received first time round, for example the enclosed dog exercise field will now be for a maximum of two dogs and one car.

“We’re really excited to bring the site back into regular community use and this application marks the first stage of us bringing this much-loved site back to life.”