Plans for major development of 325 new homes near Peterborough take a step forward

Plans have been drawn up by Seagate Homes to build 325 new homes on land off Sandy Lane on the eastern edge of Wisbech. The proposed site is currently low lying scrubland, divided into three separate fields comprising of 14.03 hectares in total.

Hybrid planning permission will be sought for the erection to 101 new homes on the site, with outline planning permission sought for a further 224.

The site is part of the East Wisbech urban extension, as part of the Fenland Local Plan 2014. The policy indicates that 73.24 hectares of land in the area has been set aside for around 1450 new homes.

This development would form the first phase of that.

Seagate Homes said: “The proposed development forms the first phase of the wider East Wisbech allocation.

“Importantly, the proposals can be delivered in isolation and on a stand-alone basis and is not dependent on any other part of the allocation. There is clear functional interdependence between the application site and any other sites in the allocation and the site is not reliant on any other land parcel for delivery. It can therefore be delivered on its own merits. In addition, adjoining sites are similarly independent.”

Pegasus Group, on behalf of Seagate Homes, has submitted a screening opinion request to Fenland District Council to see if a full Environmental Impact Assessment will be required as part of the process of acquiring planning permission.

The developers have said that they do not expect this to be necessary as the environmental impacts of the development are expected to be insignificant.

Seagate Homes added: “The Proposed Development is not Schedule 1 development for which an EIA is mandatory. The Proposed Development falls within Schedule 2, 10 (b) of the EIA Regulations, as an urban development project.

"In summary, the proposed development is considered to be modest in scale and of a type that is consistent with other land uses in proximity to the Site. Any environmental effects associated with the Development are unlikely to be significant and well, understood, standard mitigation measures can be adopted. As such, the Development is not considered to constitute EIA development."

Fenland District Council now has a 90-day period in which to make its decision.

The application can be viewed on the district council’s planning portal using reference F/YR22/0514/SC.