Developer wins appeal to build 115 village homes

Folly Farm says it is moving its equestrian centre from Yaxley to Farcet

A developer has won an appeal to build 115 new homes in a village after a council initially refused its application.

The new homes are planned to be built at the Livery Stable Folly Farm, off London Road, Yaxley, near Peterborough, and 40% of properties will be affordable housing.

The developer, Abbey Properties Cambridgeshire Ltd, said its plans offered an "excellent opportunity" to meet housing needs in the area.

Huntingdonshire District Council initially refused to grant planning permission for the development over fears it would "result in harm to the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside".

The authority added that it would not fight further against the plans since the appeal was launched.

Construction noise

The development faced backlash from people living in Yaxley following concerns over the increased traffic from the new homes.

The Folly Farm Equestrian Centre, which is currently based near the site for development, said it would be moving after it felt it was no longer a "safe, peaceful home" for horses due to the proposed construction.

The authority explained that it had been provided with more information to address a number of the original reasons for its refusal of the application.

It said it still believed the new homes would harm the character of Yaxley due to "urbanisation", and that it would impact on the physical and visual separation between the village and the Great Haddon development in Peterborough.

But it highlighted that changes to the national calculation that decides how many homes need to be built in the area meant Huntingdonshire no longer had a five-year housing supply.

Therefore benefits of the new housing had to be given "significant weight" and that the development should be allowed.

The planning inspector recognised the concerns raised in the area about the impact of the development, particularly on the roads, but said there was no evidence to back up these concerns.

The inspector's report said: "The development and the proposed mitigation have also been scrutinised by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council as the local highways authorities concerned.

"Subject to mitigation, neither of these bodies have any outstanding objections to the appeal scheme."

A further application with more detailed plans for the development will need to be submitted and approved by Huntingdon District Council before work can start.