Date set for Peterborough Local Plan call-in meeting

Peterborough City Council’s cabinet members met on August 25 and approved the final draft of the city’s Local Plan titled the ‘Proposed Submission’, enabling a six-week consultation to take place before it is submitted to government for approval.

However, the process was put on hold after Conservative councillor Kirsty Knight, alongside her party colleagues, called in the cabinet decision due to concerns around two developments.

Cllr Knight said she wanted a scrutiny committee to examine the evidence supporting the removal of the proposed 115.5 hectare industrial development for Drysides near Stanground from the Local Plan.

She also wanted the committee to establish whether the combined impact of 2,070 homes planned for the East of England Showground had been adequately assessed in relation to various pieces of infrastructure.

“We called in the Local Plan decision because the issues involved are too significant to pass without proper scrutiny,” a Conservative group spokesperson said.

An extraordinary scrutiny committee meeting will now take place on Tuesday, September 15 where cross-party members and co-optees will review the cabinet’s decision to approve the latest version of the Local Plan.

The committee may make recommendations for consideration, including potentially asking cabinet to reconsider its decision.

If a further report is agreed to be considered by cabinet, it is anticipated that this will take place on October 1 when cabinet is already meeting.

What is the Local Plan?

The Local Plan is the key document which allows local authorities to guide development in their areas, with around 20,000 new homes and 196 hectares of new employment land planned for Peterborough in the next 20 years.

First stages of the new plan were developed in 2023 and the document has undergone many changes since.

The proposed submission version of the plan must be handed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government by December 31 this year.

Government will then appoint an independent planning inspector to carry out a public examination of this version before it is adopted by Peterborough City Council in September 2027.

The city council has been praised for listening to its residents during the Local Plan process.

For example, a proposed 3,000 home development at Castor and Ailsworth was removed from the plan after severe public backlash, as well as a proposed development at the much-loved Green Backyard charity site in Peterborough.

However, some contentious sites still exist in the plan meaning some remain unsatisfied with its latest version.