New village extension with over 200 objections will be resubmitted followingwithdrawal

Plans for 73 new homes in Helpston- that have received over 200 objections from local residents have been withdrawn but will be resubmitted according to the developer..

David Wilson Homes had submitted an application to redevelop a parcel of land off Broad Wheel Road to extend the village through a mix of new bungalows and maisonettes.

The plans included nine three-bed houses, 32 four-bed, and ten five-bed homes to be sold on the market as well as eight one-bed maisonettes, two two-bed bungalows, six two-bed houses and six three-bed houses, being classed as affordable homes.

At the time of the application being submitted in October 2022, it drew a wave of applications from local residents- with over 230 public comments being made online, the overwhelming majority of these being objections.

Most of these centered around the density of plans, which many argued were contrary to the villages local plan.

The plan states that any masterplan for the Broad Wheel Road site must be made for the site as a whole. The application for 73 homes made use of around two thirds of the site when the plan states that up to 82 homes should be placed on the whole site.

Concerns were also raised about the additional pressures on the infrastructure of the village.

Cllr David Over said: “I have always accepted beneficial development in the village whilst maintaining its rural character.

“This proposed development neither helps maintain a rural character nor provides benefits to the village.

"By far the most important concern for villages is the education provision. The village school has few empty places. The newly-arriving primary school children will generate huge pressure on the school. Plans to bus children as young as four to Barnack is out of the question. Village children should go to the village school.”

A further extension of Helpston has also been planned with an application to build 20 new homes on land adjacent to John Clare Primary School currently being decided.

North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara has been among those to speak out against those plans.

A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire said: “We have withdrawn our application to allow us to review the proposed development in Helpston and we plan to submit a revised application in the near future.”

The application can be viewed on the city council’s planning portal using reference 22/01472/FUL.