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'Groundhog day' for villages fighting development

John Devine
BBC News, Peterborough
Reporting fromCastor and Ailsworth
John Devine/BBC Martin Chillcott, 68, has brown hair with greying hair on each side. He is wearing a khaki shirt with an orange T-shirt under that. He has a large badge on the left of his shirt that says Protect Rural Peterborough. Roadways are visible behind him, with cars parked along near the kerbs. Some daffodils are in bloom on the left and a tree is behind him. There are some houses each side of the road.John Devine/BBC
Martin Chillcott said it was "the wrong development in the wrong place for all sorts of reasons"

A campaigner said the latest battle to stop big housing developments being built near two villages felt like "groundhog day".

Martin Chillcott said Castor and Ailsworth, west of Peterborough, had faced the threat of large developments four times.

Latest plans to build up to 3,000 homes in the area followed Peterborough City Council's draft local plan, which has outlined growth for the next two decades.

Its leader said the council was not in the business of just putting up houses, adding they had to be "planned and implemented in the right way".

Mr Chillcott set up the group Protect Rural Peterborough nine years ago, in an attempt to prevent any nearby settlements.

He said the last time they campaigned against development was in 2023, when more than 300 people packed into a school hall to have their voices heard.

He added the plans for the area would not solve the housing crisis.

"We have put together evidence that shows this is the wrong development in the wrong place for all sorts of reasons - flood management, archaeology and nature being three of them," Mr Chillcott said.

John Devine/BBC Elaine Wakerley, 73, has short grey hair and is wearing a blue polo neck jumper, with a black body warmer on top. Behind her is a rural road going up a hill, with a grassy field with trees visible behind her. There are properties either side of the road.John Devine/BBC
Elaine Wakerley, whose family connections to the area date back to the 1600s, said she was concerned about flooding

Elaine Wakerley, 73, has lived in the area all her life and said her family had lived locally since the 1600s.

She claimed the plan for 3,000 homes was "naïve" and it could eventually be many more.

John Devine/BBC Steve Gigner, 59, is wearing a black flat cap and black jumper, with a black apron over the top. He has a greyish stubbly beard and moustache and is standing in front of the shop door, which has an open sign on it.John Devine/BBC
Steve Gigner, who runs a coffee shop, said he had not spoken to anyone who thought the new homes would benefit the community

Steve Gigner, 59, also criticised the plans, saying the new homes would "change the way of life" and turn the area into an "extension of Peterborough".

"It seems the wrong area to build these homes," Mr Gigner said.

Speaking about the draft plan, Labour leader of the council, Dennis Jones, said: "It is nowhere near a done deal - various stages and hoops have to be gone through before it goes to public consultation.

"Change is here to stay. We have a new government, the last revision of the local plan was 2019, the government is pro-growth we need to provide jobs, homes, and energy has to be in the mix."

He added the council was "looking at sustainable communities" and "learning the lessons from the past".

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