Deeping, Glinton, Barnack, Helpston, Castor and Ailsworth among villages receiving more homes under Peterborough Local Plan but thousands of homes for Wittering scrapped over A1 concerns

A village’s access to the A1 has foiled plans for thousands of new homes.

Wittering, four miles south of Stamford, had been earmarked for 8,000 extra properties in early drafts of Peterborough’s Local Plan.

The plans involved new-build housing from the A1 northbound and the existing Wittering village to the A47, and from the A1 southbound to Sutton Heath Road just south of Southorpe.

But in the latest version of the draft Local Plan, all but 42 homes south of Parker Road and 66 properties south of Lawrence Road have been scrapped.

The Peterborough City Councillor representing Wittering, Gavin Elsey, said: “They have decided because they would need to build a flyover at Wittering it makes it an uneconomical site for the planned housing.”

It has been de-categorised as a potential site, but if issues with the other sites arise during the consultation Wittering could be put back on the table.

“As far as we are concerned we are not out of the woods at this moment,” said Coun Elsey (Peterborough First Group).

Motorists driving southbound along the A1 have to cross the northbound carriageway to enter Wittering village, which fuelled an application for a flyover a few years ago.

It has so far passed two stages of a three-part process but after a change in government last year updates on moving plans forward have been scarce.

Even with a flyover Coun Elsey believes more is needed in the village to accommodate up to 8,000 new homes.

He said: “You put a flyover in and then the rest of the infrastructure such as a secondary school, and potentially another primary school. Only then can you look at it as a potential benefit for people in the area.

“Without all that infrastructure it would just be a housing desert which is cut off from most of society because of its geographical location.”

A group of villagers had also voiced concerns over the plans, including one of the site’s historical links, village infrastructure and access to the A1.

Public consultation is underway on Peterborough’s draft Local Plan with the deadline for submitting comments set for May 29.

Among the sites included is a new settlement of 1,055 homes on land west of Lincoln Road and east of the A15 at Market Deeping.

The villages of Castor and Ailsworth are subject to the big changes, with 1,800 new homes proposed by 2044 and 1,200 more thereafter. A country park is also included in the plans for this area.

Land in Glinton, Newborough, Barnack, Bainton and Helpston are also already marked on the draft.

Publication of the final submission is due to take place at the end of this year, with submission to the government scheduled for January or February 2026.

An independent examination is planned for summer 2026 and it's hoped the plan will be adopted by the end of next year.