New call to think again about refusal of 650 homes on East of England Showground

A decision to reject plans to build 650 homes on the East of England Showground looks set to be reviewed by councillors.

A cross-party group of councillors is understood to have ‘called in’ the decision made by Peterborough City Council’s planning committee on October 15.

The ‘call in’ procedure means the decision is likely to be considered again at another meeting of councillors.

It is understood that two Conservative councillors and two Labour councillors have ‘called in’ the decision on the basis that it was wrong and does not conform to council policy.

It is also understood that external legal advice will be taken to review the decision.

A council spokesperson confirmed that the decision to reject the 650 plans submitted by Showground promoter AEPG had been called in by councillors.

The move comes a week after the planning committee voted to reject the outline planning application for 650 homes on the section of the Showground that was formerly used for speedway racing.

The loss of speedway was officially named as outweighing any benefits that a development on the East of England Showground would give the people of Peterborough. The disappearance of the speedway track as well as the loss of the public attractions held on the Showground have been cited by the council as reasons for the refusal of a 670 homes development on part of the Showground. Councillors agreed by six votes in favour with three against and one abstention to highlight a positive way forward for the developer. A resolution stated the reasons for refusal to be “by virtue of the loss of the showground and speedway track, together with a quantum of dwellings which cumulatively would significantly exceed the allocated 650 dwellings on the showground site, the proposed development was contrary to Policies LP30 and LP36 and para 103 of the NPPF, and there were no other material considerations, including the NPPF “tilted balance” that carried such weight as to outweigh the conflict with the Development Plan. At the same meeting, the planning committee also approved a separate outline application from AEPG to build 850 homes, a leisure village, school and care village on adjoining land on the Showground.