Council to build 1,000 homes yearly to hit target

A city council must build more than 1,000 homes to meet its new housing target.

The development of the new Peterborough Local Plan was put on hold last year to incorporate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made by the incoming Labour government.

In December 2024, the government published the revised version of the NPPF and it included more more additional requirements relating to climate change with the need for net zero development.

For Peterborough, the changes from previous local plans meant an increased housing target of 70 dwellings yearly, resulting in a total need for 1,006 homes per year.

A public consultation for the draft Peterborough Local Plan was postponed in September 2024 until February this year, when the public will have six weeks to comment on the draft policies and proposed site allocations identified.

The plan will determine what Peterborough and the surrounding villages will look like in the future, covering a range of issues such as climate change, housing, employment, transport and retail.

It is expected that the plan will be adopted by the council by October 2026 following a public examination carried out by an independent planning inspector.

The city council's growth, resources and communities scrutiny committee will meet on 28 January to discuss the local plan.

Labour councillor Nick Thulborn, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "We'll get responses from the experts and officers at the council and we'll go from there. Overall, it's not a huge increase."

He noted the importance of the local plan, adding: "It affects everybody. It's important that people engage with it because it will highlight areas where developments will be built and enhancements will happen.

"It lays out the parameters of what will happen over the next 20 years or so."

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