Jobs and homes development blueprint for Peterborough is to undergo a review

Action is being taken to ensure the growth of Peterborough does not run out of steam.

Work is set to start on a revision of the city’s Local Plan to ensure there is a good supply of employment and housing land in Peterborough.

The move by Peterborough City Council comes in the wake of concerns raised by some developers and commercial agents about a growing shortage of land for large industrial development.

It comes after it was announced that the city’s major employment zone, Peterborough Gateway, was full and one leading firm, Photocentric, revealed how it had nearly left the city after difficulties finding a new site for a larger factory.

Councillors are to be asked at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet on January 16 to set the wheels in motion for a review of the Local Plan.

The existing Local Plan, which determines which sites are suitable for development, runs to 2036 and a new policy would extend the coverage to 2041.

A document to be submitted to Cabinet states a new Local Plan will “ensure new development continues to take place in planned locations and help demonstrate a five year housing land supply, which is a Government requirement.”

It will also mean an “opportunity to identify new locations for growth” and it will “identify additional range and choice of employment sites to accommodate increasing commercial demand.”

The statement adds: “This will generate wealth, and improve local people’s life chances by providing increased employment opportunities.

"There is evidence to suggest the supply of employment land is tight, and a significant proportion of allocated employment land either has planning permission, is under construction, or has already been built out.”

Planning officers will also tell councillors: “Overall, an up-to-date Local Plan, covering a longer time frame, means more certainty for

everyone – the public, developers and public service providers - about where growth will take place.

"Infrastructure providers – education, highways, NHS facilities - will also have more certainty to plan for future provision contributing to the development of sustainable communities.”

Councillors will also be told drawing up a new Local Plan will take three or four years at a cost of about £350,000 a year.