Campaigners' 'surprise' at reasons for East of England Showground plans review

Campaigners have voiced surprise after councillors secured a review of a decision to reject plans for 650 homes on the East of England Showground.

Members of the Showground Plans Under Residents Review group (SPURR) say the move to call-in the decision seems to be based on ‘conjecture’ about what might happen if the developer appealed against the refusal.

SPURR says the refusal of AEPG’s plans came during a six hour meeting of Peterborough City Council’s planning committee on October 15 and was based on ‘solid information and facts.’

But the group’s officials say they have ‘confidence in the democratic process’ and have vowed to attend a future Appeals Committee meeting to ensure residents’ concerns are heard.

The move to call-in the refusal as made by Cllr Asim Mahmood (Lab), Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Con), Cllr Jason McNally (Lab) and Cllr Scott Warren (Con).

Cllr Mahmood told the Peterborough Telegraph: “The reasons why I decided to call this application in with others as I felt that not all material considerations were taken into account.

“I felt the recommendations would not be sufficient if challenged at an appeal process.

“I feel that on balance the harm in this case is significantly outweighed by the potential success of this development.

“I fully understand the emotions around the potential loss of the Showground but our decisions must be robust, in line with material facts and we must have confidence in our decision-making process.”

The call-in was validated by council officers after taking external legal advice and means the outline planning application will be reconsidered by the Appeals and Planning Review Committee in the near future.

Orton Waterville Councillor Nicola Day, and SPURR representative, said: “SPURR are fully prepared to be present at the committee meeting to voice local residents’ concerns about the development and how it will adversely affect Peterborough as a whole.

“Councillors who first voted to reject the development based their decision on solid information and facts, rather than on conjecture over what might happen if the decision is taken to a higher level.”

A council spokesperson said: “We haven't set a date yet for the Appeals Committee as a new report needs to be drafted containing everything the Committee will need, which takes time.”