Contentious developments in Peterborough's Draft Local Plan as council leader says extra public consultations not possible

Public consultation is well underway for Peterborough's Draft Local Plan but the city council leader has warned more public engagement events cannot be held

The Local Plan Review for 2024 to 2044 is proposed to replace the current Local Plan adopted in 2019, and will set out how the city and surrounding villages will grow and change over the next 20 years.

It was put on hold last year to incorporate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made by the incoming Labour government.

For Peterborough, these changes resulted in an increased housing target from 18,720 to 20,120 houses by 2044 (1,006 per year).

The Local Plan also addresses issues such as employment, climate change and transport.

A public consultation on the draft plan began on April 11 and will end on May 29. This gives residents the opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

Five public engagement events were set up by the council for residents to learn more about the plan and discuss the draft policies and proposed sites.

Two events have taken place with three more left, including:

Saturday, May 10 - Peterborough Museum from 10am to 4pm Monday, May 12 - Online drop-in session via Zoom, 12.30pm Thursday, May 15 - Cathedral Square near Cathedral Arch from 5pm to 7pm

Peterborough City Council leader Dennis Jones said that, despite requests, the authority does not have the resources to host any extra engagement events.

He said: "We’ve had a couple of requests to host more public events in community settings, such as libraries, but with the limited resources that we have available this sadly isn’t possible.

"There are, however, other ways people can get involved, including online consultation events, completing an online survey or by obtaining paper copies of the draft plan and comment forms available across the council’s library buildings and in the Town Hall."

Cllr Jones added: "I must emphasise that the plan is still in draft form, so no decisions have been made, so the public’s feedback is essential in helping shape later versions."

A number of developments proposed in the Draft Local Plan have already received backlash from members of the public.

Castor and Ailsworth homes

Martin Chillcott, who set up the Protect Rural Peterborough campaign group in 2016 to save open countryside from overdevelopment, argued that the Draft Local Plan would drive “damaging urban sprawl” into the countryside.

Within the draft plan, there are proposals to build 3,000 homes north of Castor and Ailsworth, which is land that Mr Chillcott believes should be Peterborough’s “space to breathe”.

He said: "Our villages are not opposed to growth. We have increased in size by 20 per cent in recent years, at the same rate as the wider city."

Mr Chillcott added: "We urge the council to think again before they trash one of our city’s finest assets. A landscape of Clare’s poetry, and the John Clare countryside nature recovery project, that should be Peterborough’s space to breathe."

He also accused the council of not providing evidence to support the Castor and Ailsworth proposal prior to public consultation.

The council confirmed a Sites Evidence Report would be published as part of the Draft Local Plan public consultation, which started on April 11. This report sets out all site assessment criteria and scores.

The authority also said that engaging with residents, businesses and other groups for their feedback is a "very important step" in creating a new Local Plan.

Eye developments

Dale McKean, who has lived in Eye for more than 40 years, fears the village could not cope with more houses and industrial developments, which are being proposed in Peterborough City Council’s Draft Local Plan.

He claimed that a proposed 19-hectare employment site earmarked for land to the north of Parnwell Way, Eye, contradicted the council’s ‘green wedge’ policy, which refers to designated areas of undeveloped land that prevent urban sprawl and the merging of settlements.

Mr McKean also raised concerns over the site being within a flood zone and argued that it would prevent any extension of the A1139, which he claimed would ease congestion leading back to the A47 Trunk Road and village.

Another issue Mr McKean raised about the Draft Local Plan was a proposal for a 15-metre high industrial development in close proximity to Grade II* Listed Oxney Grange, which he claimed would have a significant visual and noise impact on the historic building as well as the nearby residents.

There are also plans for 10 houses near the Grade II Listed Blue Boar pub in Eye and plans for 100 houses on land east of Crowland Road, adjacent to a Grade II* Listed farm house.

“The village has been sustainable for years so it doesn’t need any more growth. It is surrounded by flood zones so it can’t have any more growth.

“It’s got a protective green wedge policy but they’re going against it and want to put an industrial site on there. That, as a consequence, will impact resolving the rat run issue through the village and past our primary school,” Mr McKean said.

Councillor Nick Thulbourn, cabinet member for growth and regeneration at the council, said the authority understood proposals for growth "can be challenging for communities" but noted it was "essential we all work together to plan for our future generations".

Green Backyard

The Green Backyard, located in Fletton, just off Oundle Road, has been earmarked as a potential site for the development of 48 new homes.

If the draft were to be approved in its current form, the charitable organisation which runs the community garden could be forced to relocate at any time in order for the housing to be completed.

The Green Backyard aims to bring the people and communities of Peterborough together in a welcoming and accessible space as well as support people of all ages by reconnecting them with nature.

Volunteers and trustees have been left devastated by the threat the site is facing and are rallying to fight the proposed plans

A number of councillors have pledged their support for The Green Backyard project.

Residents and users of The Green Backyard have been encouraged to have their say on the Draft Local Plan, with the council assuring that plans are not yet set in stone.

Showground homes

Two planning applications were submitted in August 2023 for a total of 1,500 homes to be built at the East of England Showground (one application for 650 homes and one for 850).

The application for 850 homes, including a care village, hotel and school, was recommended for approval by a planning committee in October 2024.

The application to build 650 homes on land that contains the former speedway track was approved in January this year, after members of Peterborough City Council’s appeals and planning review committee voted to overturn an initial decision by the planning committee to refuse permission.

Residents, local councillors and the Peterborough Speedway Consortium heavily opposed the plans, citing concerns around overdevelopment, highway safety and loss of cultural heritage.

However, the chief executive of AEPG which will oversee the developments argued it was a "transformative opportunity" for the city.

The 1,500 home development is earmarked as a proposed new urban extension in the Draft Local Plan. Also included are plans to build 570 homes to the west of the showground.

The council hopes that the full Local Plan will be adopted in December 2026.