Scandi homes and traveller sites in local plan

A Scandinavian-inspired housing estate and new traveller sites feature in development plans for one of the UK's fastest-growing cities.

Peterborough City Council is set to vote on its local plan, a statutory blueprint for future development, at a meeting on Tuesday.

It said the city needs more than 20,000 homes between now and 2043, as well as 196 hectares (484 acres) of land for jobs, to meet demand.

Numan Ali Iqbal, the city council's cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said local plans formed "the heart" of future planning decisions.

"We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the consultation process so far," he said.

Peterborough City Council's local plan sets out where homes and workplaces could be built for the next 17 years, and priorities for improving the city.

The biggest development identified in the plan is in Great Haddon, a new community near Yaxley, where more than 5,000 homes are allocated to be built.

The document also identified land for 570 new homes beside the East of England Showground, where developers already hope to build up to 1,500 homes.

A plan for 1,250 homes south of Market Deeping has been included in the final draft, despite being branded "cheeky" by a South Kesteven district councillor for being close to the Lincolnshire border.

Critics said the development would put more strain on infrastructure in the Deepings in Lincolnshire.

The plan also said land was needed for 43 additional Gypsy and traveller pitches in the area.

It said 38 pitches could go on Thornberry Lodge, near Thorney, and an additional five at an address on Royce Road in the city.

Being included in a local plan gives extra weight to projects when decisions are being made, but they still need normal planning permission to go ahead.

The plan identifies a number of special character areas in the city, where planning policies give added protection to local character.

That included Svenskaby in Orton Wistow, a "Scandinavia style inspired estate" where the buildings are triple-glazed and clad with timber, and a settlement of 19th-century farmsteads and cottages in Ashton.

It said ARU Peterborough, the city university that opened in 2022, would be "thriving" during this time.

Land near the Embankment area of the city has been set aside for the university, which is hoping to build a centre focusing on green energy.

Plans to build industrial units on land overlooked by a beauty spot along the Old River Nene, known locally as Drysides, were also included.

The proposals involve building on 115.5 hectares (285 acres) northeast of Stanground.

The final draft of the local plan also removed a number of previously proposed sites, much to the delight of some campaigners.

Proposals for a 3,000-home development near Castor and Ailsworth were dropped from the final document.

Critics said it would have built on land that formed part of John Clare countryside, named after the Northamptonshire poet.

Martin Chillcott, the chair of campaign group Protect Rural Peterborough, said its omission from the final draft was a "win-win for both the city centre and the John Clare countryside".

He said: "Development here would have ripped the heart out of this nationally-important landscape."

Proposals to build on a community garden known as the Green Backyard also did not make the cut, after the council promised a rethink on plans to build over it.

The initial draft had earmarked 48 houses on a plot on London Road that included the Green Backyard, which runs gardening projects.

If the council cabinet approves the document, there would be a final six-week public consultation before it is submitted to the government.

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