Cabinet will be asked to approve the final draft of the Local Plan, to enable a six-week consultation to take place in September and October 2026 before it is submitted to the Government for approval.
The Local Plan is the key document which allows local authorities to guide development in their areas. It outlines what areas should and should not be developed and how land should be protected. The aim of the plan is to ensure there is a balance between development, environmental protection and public interest.
Local Plans normally cover a 15-year period and must be based on adequate, up-to-date and relevant evidence about the economic, social and environmental characteristics and prospects of the area.
The Proposed Submission Local Plan, which will go before the Cabinet in August, is the final version of the council’s Local Plan that has been updated following two public consultations.
Cabinet is being asked to approve the Proposed Submission Local Plan to enable a final six-week public consultation.
However, representations received will only be considered by an independent Planning Inspector, not Peterborough City Council. The council cannot amend this version of the plan before it is submitted.
This final consultation is a legal requirement and objectors must state why the plan is ‘unsound’ and what needs to be done to address the matter. Objections made at earlier consultation stages are not carried forward and if a representor remains unsatisfied with the Local Plan, that representor must repeat their objection at the next consultation stage, if they want it to be considered.
Peterborough’s Proposed Submission Local Plan must be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government by 31 December 2026.
Councillor Numan Ali Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration, said: “A Local Plan is at the heart of the planning system and provides a framework for guiding decisions on individual planning applications and identifies land for development, as well as areas where development should be restricted.
“We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the consultation process so far which has enabled us to continue to refine the plan until we have this Proposed Submission Document.”
Background information:
- In January 2023 Full Council agreed to prepare a new Local Plan for Peterborough, which will replace the current Local Plan adopted in July 2019. In July 2023 the council consulted on the Issues and Option document. This document set out a series of questions about what could be included in the new Peterborough Local Plan. A key Issues report was published in November 2023 which summarised the main issues raised. The comments helped inform the Draft Local Plan.
- In April 2025, the council consulted on the Draft Local Plan, which sets out the proposed policies and identified the preferred locations for growth for the first time. All comments received during the consultation period have been assessed and taken into consideration during the production of the Proposed Submission Local Plan and appropriate changes made to the Plan.
- In January 2026, the council carried out consultation on an alternative site option on land to the west of Wittering. A Key issues report summarising the comments received was published in May 2026.