Proposals identifying where Peterborough's future housing, workplace, leisure and other facilities can be built will be discussed at Peterborough City Council's planning and environmental protection committee next Tuesday (26 October).

The proposals will then be submitted to the cabinet and full council in December and, if approved by full council, the document will be available for a six-week consultation period early next year. It is the first stage in a process that is expected to result in the proposals becoming official council policy by December 2011.

A council spokesman said: "Planning officers are putting their recommendations to councillors over the next two months, prior to the six-week consultation in early New Year. Residents should not submit any formal comments on the proposals until the six-week consultation starts.


"For legal reasons, the council can only accept comments during the formal consultation period, so people should save their comments until the New Year consultation launch."

The 'site allocations development plan document' has been prepared following extensive public consultation earlier this year. The document identifies specific sites where development can be permitted to achieve Peterborough's growth targets to March 2026.

If approved by the city council, the document – together with any comments from further public consultation – will be submitted to the Communities and Local Government Secretary in spring 2011. A planning inspector will then conduct an 'examination in public' giving people a further opportunity to make comments.

If approved by the inspector, the site allocations document will be adopted as official council policy in December 2011. It will identify specific sites for development to achieve the targets set out in the council’s core strategy, which underwent a public examination over the past three weeks.

The document identifies approximately 20,250 new homes, of which 8,682 already have planning permission.

(CD)