Blueprint for thousands of new homes set for vote

Councillors are set to have their say on a plan paving the way for thousands of new homes to be built in a city.

Peterborough City Council's cabinet will decide on 25 August whether to approve a new local plan, which will shape where homes, employment and infrastructure are built until 2043.

The city needs an updated local plan to reflect government housebuilding targets of more than 1,000 homes a year.

If the plan gets the green light, there will be a six-week public consultation before it is submitted to the government.

The council's current local plan goes up to 2036 and is used as a guide by planners when making decisions about where building can or cannot happen.

The authority, which is led by a coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Peterborough First, hopes the revised blueprint will cover development up to 2043.

Failure to submit it by 31 December could force the council to restart the process under the government's new planning system.

The document identifies locations for new developments, providing for more than 20,000 new homes, and 196 hectares (484 acres) of land for employment.

That includes a 2,000-home development on a site known as Leeds Farm east of Newborough Road.

There are also plans to build industrial units near an area in Stanground known locally as Drysides.

Chris Harper, a Peterborough First councillor who represents Stanground South, said he was writing to cabinet members asking them to reject the latest version of the local plan.

Other campaigners were pleased that projects included in previous versions of the new plan did not make the final cut.

That includes proposals to build on a community garden known as the Green Backyard, which are no longer part of the local plan.

The meeting takes place at 14:00 BST at the council's Sand Martin House offices.

Do you have a story suggestion for Peterborough? Contact us below.

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.