Decision next week over 300 new homes on the edge of Wisbech

More than 300 new homes could be built on the edge of Wisbech if plans are approved by councillors on Wednesday.

Fenland District Council is set to decide whether 308 homes and a 60-bed care home can be built on land to the east of the town.

Planning officers at the authority have recommended that the development should be approved, despite the plans not including any affordable housing.

The proposals for the new homes have been put forward by Prosperity Wealth and Developments Limited.

The planning application asked for full permission to build 294 homes. It also asked for outline permission to build a 60-bed care home, a local centre including shops and services, and up to 14 more homes.

More detailed plans would need to be submitted for the outline parts of the application before that section could be built.

The new homes are proposed to be a mix of one, two, three, and four-bedrooms, with a range of heights also proposed, from single-storey to two-and-a-half storeys.

The care home is proposed to be built in the north-eastern corner of the site, facing onto Sandy Lane and Broadend Road.

If approved, the development would form part of the wider plans to build 1,450 homes to the east of the town.

The developer said its proposals offered to create a “sustainable development at a highly sustainable location, together with the delivery of community infrastructure”.

Concerns about the plans have been raised by some in the area. Wisbech Town Council has objected to the plans, arguing it would be an “overdevelopment” of the site.

Issues have also been raised by members of the public, with worries shared about the increase in traffic from the development and the potential impact the new homes could have on people already living in the area.

Objectors also argued the existing infrastructure in the town could not support the number of new homes proposed.

One person said: “We do not have the local infrastructure to support a development of this size.

“Shops, doctors’ surgeries and local schools would not be able to manage with this increased population in the area.”

However, in a report published by the district council, planning officers said they recommend that permission should be granted for the development.

They said a “comprehensive package of mitigation” had been proposed by the developer, mainly to address the impact of transport.

However, officers recognised that “due to known viability constraints”, there would be no affordable housing or social infrastructure contributions from the development.

The report said: “In applying the planning balance; viability constraints through delivering the initial phases of the strategic allocation have always been anticipated and despite its inability to meet the social infrastructure and affordable housing contributions, the development would not only secure significant housing, including a housing scheme specifically addressing older persons accommodation, the highway infrastructure delivery will also aid in unlocking further parcels of the allocation, enabling further housing delivery and associated infrastructure.

“Furthermore, the highway improvement works to Sandy Lane and Broadend Road, whilst necessary for the development itself, would also benefit the wider populous, providing improved connectivity to an employment site to the east and other services in the surroundings.

“It is considered therefore that the benefits of the proposal would, on balance, outweigh the disbenefits, would amount to sustainable development, complying with the development plan taken as a whole.”