Consultation launched on city's 20-year plan

A final public consultation has been launched on a blueprint that will shape future housing and development across Peterborough.

The council's cabinet voted to put the Local Plan out for consultation on Thursday, giving residents the opportunity to comment on a document that will guide planning decisions for the next 20 years.

It sets out where development should and should not take place and identifies land that should be protected.

The six-week consultation begins on Friday, before the plan is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 31 December.

A Local Plan had already been approved in August; however, the city's Conservative group called in the original decision at a full council meeting on Tuesday.

The group criticised a last-minute decision to remove proposals for industrial units to be built on 115.5 hectares (285 acres) of land north of the Old River Nene in Stanground.

They questioned the evidence supporting its removal and asked how future employment needs would be met elsewhere.

Shabina Qayyum, leader of the council, said the change had been backed by 38 councillors at Tuesday's meeting.

The Conservative group did not take part in the vote. Group leader Wayne Fitzgerald said: "We had already stated we could not support a plan that in our view was unsound".

Cabinet members also considered a recommendation to increase the Local Plan's minimum social rented housing requirement.

They said despite it being a positive recommendation, changing it now could risk the plan's viability. Instead, councillors in support of the idea have been asked to submit views through the consultation process instead.

Numan Ali Iqbal, cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said: "We have a Local Plan which we are confident has both support and is evidence-based. Now we want the public to have their final say on it before it is submitted to the planning inspectorate at the end of the year.

"The Local Plan... ensures growth in our city happens in the right way and in the right areas."

The results of the consultation, along with the Local Plan, will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate before the December deadline.

If the deadline is missed, new regulations require councils to begin work on a new Local Plan from scratch.

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

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