East of England Showground: What happens next?

Plans to build 1,500 homes on the East of England Showground have stalled

Plans to build 1,500 homes on a former showground could be scrapped.

Permission was granted for the development at the East of England Showground on Oundle Road, Peterborough, but a disagreement over the delivery of services including a primary school, care home and leisure village means it could be overturned.

Peterborough City Council's planning committee will meet on Tuesday to consider whether to block the project after developers sought to change draft terms around the delivery of community infrastructure.

The £50m project has been several years in the making. So what has happened?

What are the plans for the showground?

The 165-acre (67 hectare) showground on Oundle Road hosted events including music and comedy festivals, vehicle shows and trade fairs. It was also home to the Peterborough Panthers motorcycle speedway team, TruckFest and the East of England Show before it was discontinued in 2013.

TruckFest first came to the Peterborough Showground in 1983, but will move to Lincolnshire

Plans to redevelop the showground into housing were submitted in 2023. A tranche of 850 homes alongside a hotel, care home and leisure facilities were approved in 2024.

A proposal for another 650 homes was rejected amid fears of overdevelopment, but this decision was later overturned. All 1,500 homes are now in jeopardy because developers failed to reach an agreement with Peterborough City Council over associated infrastructure.

Why are the plans controversial?

The plans received more than 900 public objections. Local people said they were concerned about the loss of the showground as an events space, the possible strain on services and traffic. Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough said the plans could have a negative impact on the "vitality of the city centre".

Developers pointed to the provision of housing as well as infrastructure such as a "leisure village" as positives the scheme would bring to the area. A group of around 60 businesses and organisations including Peterborough Cathedral, Nene Park Trust and Peterborough Phantoms previously wrote letters of support for the changes.

What about speedway?

Fans of the Peterborough Panthers speedway team campaigned to keep their track at the East of England Showground

The East of England Showground was home to the Peterborough Panthers speedway team for more than 50 years. It held a farewell event in 2024.

The team's supporters rallied together to try to save the track at the showground. But developers said continuing the sport there was not viable.

What is next?

With events and sports fixtures suspended and housing approved, it appeared the next steps would be developers submitting detailed design plans before starting building work. But now the entire plan hangs in the balance.

It is because they have not reached an agreement with Peterborough City Council over their legally-binding contributions towards local infrastructure, despite extensions.

The council said it was broadly in agreement with applicant Asset Earning Power Group (AEPG), which has a lease on part of the land, over the terms. But it said the applicant which owns the land, the East of England Agricultural Society (EEAS), had proposed amendments it did not find acceptable.

These included allowing 375 homes to be built before work on other infrastructure begins. The council said EEAS also wanted to introduce a "viability mechanism" to test whether providing 30% affordable housing was possible alongside other contributions.

Peterborough City Council said it could refuse the plans in their entirety if terms are not agreed. Its planning committee will meet on Tuesday morning to discuss the next steps.

'Positive legacy'

Duncan Furey, CEO of EEAS, said it "remains committed to helping deliver a positive legacy for the showground site".

"As PCC did not provide the draft [agreement] until 1 August 2025 ... and has been unwilling to engage in any negotiation of the terms of the agreement or change their approach requiring the separate commercial agreement with AEPG to be signed before permission will be granted, [EEAS's] clear advice is that it is unable to sign the [agreement]," he said.

"The society remains committed to finding a resolution to the current position that secures the future of the charity and allows the society to continue its work across the region".