Protect Rural Peterborough - PRP

13/04/2026

Please help protect rural Peterborough, the landscape, heritage and nature AND Peterborough's 'space to breath'.
Village meeting tomorrowcevenimg! Tirs 14th) 7.15pm.
Castor School Hall

Martin (Chair PRP)

KBO x

Village Meeting
Tues 14th April (Tomorrow)
Castor School Hall

Planning our Villages

We remain under considerable threat of a large number of new houses being forced upon our villages (Glinton have recently had an extra 350 houses forced on their village). Ailsworth and Castor Parish Councils have obtained legal opinion and are considering whether the best way forward to retain the initiative in our villages is by making some amendments to our Neighbourhood Plans (including possible specific new housing sites). Before doing so we need your views and a full discussion.

This is on top of the threat of 3,000 houses from Homes England that PRP have been fighting sine 2016. AND the more recent speculative proposals by Nene Park Trust for housing allocations on agricultural land at Splash Lane, Castor and Station road. Ailsworth.

Castor Parish Council and Ailsworth Parish Council, in conjunction with Protect Rural Peterborough, have therefore arranged for a public meeting to be held in Castor School Hall at 7.15 pm on Tuesday 14th April.

Please come along. We want to explain more and hear your views.
This is a very important meeting for the villages.

2 Parishes. One Community.

(MC)

08/04/2026

Peterborough Labour Party?
Peterborough Conservatives?
Peterborough Green Party?
Reform UK - Peterborough ?
Peterborough First?

We call on all parties to Protect Rural Peterborough. Protect our

08/04/2026

The popularity of our region means we need to build more homes in and thankfully the city offers various exciting opportunities for development. So let’s grow our fantastic city and preserve the green that hugs it.

06/04/2026

John Clare's Nightingales at the Hanglands. ❤️ After flying from West Africa you wouldnt think they'd have the puff to sing so powerfully 😀
And beautifully 😊

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

Did you know that the ancient woodlands just outside of is a top site for breeding nightingales which arrive from Africa in April and sing throughout May and early June. Help us spread the word on this precious site by sharing this post.

01/12/2025

Defending our rural community and the nature that surrounds it

Thank you to everyone who has supported us at the three public meetings since early 2023.

We have now been informed that the publication by Peterborough City Council
(PCC) of the final draft Local Plan has been delayed again, likely into next summer.

This means our continued vigilance and community support will be needed well into 2026.

DEVELOPMENT NORTH OF THE A47
The threat of 1,800 houses proposed north of the A47 (with long-term plans rising to 3,000) remains in the current draft Local Plan.
This proposal has been strongly challenged by residents.
Many of you responded powerfully to both public consultations, making clear the community’s view.
Thankyou.
Peterborough City Council (PCC) have confirmed that the ONLY consultation response in favour of Homes England’s proposal was from Homes England themselves!

PRP continues to engage with PCC leaders and senior officers. We firmly believe that both the process and content of the draft plan are flawed. Any independent PlanningInspector would be likely to find it unsound, requiring substantial revision and we are
lobbying PCC on this basis relentlessly.

AILSWORTH 250 HOUSES PROPOSAL BY HOMES ENGLAND
As previously communicated, Homes England submitted a new proposal for 250 houses on land west of Ailsworth just days AFTER the 2nd Public consultation closed in May 2025.
We view this as a serious attempt to bypass the community and local scrutiny. We will not let that happen.

NENE PARK TRUST PROPOSALS
We were also very disappointed to see Nene Park Trust submit proposals for housing development on 2 parcels land south of the villages.

Following pressure from PRP and others, their initial proposal for 690 houses has now been scaled back to around 115 houses, alongside a visitor centre, car park and country-park-style public access.
PCC Planners have already noted that these proposals would face significant planning hurdles. The land includes:
- An ancient monument
- Rare medieval ridge and furrow
- Extensive archaeological heritage including a Roman villa
- Flood zone 2 and Flood zone 3 classifications cover a lot of both the Station road site (45 houses + Visitor centre & Car park + 'Nature area' ) and the Splash lane site (70 houses)

Given NPT’s charitable purpose to protect the Nene Valley landscape, this remains an area of deep concern.
And one we have responded to VERY directly. NPT are now in no
doubt of our concerns.

POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT
As part of the John Clare Countryside (JCC) area, we were pleased to see Paul Bristow visit and publicly confirm the importance of preserving this landscape as a long- term asset for Peterborough. As Combined Authority Mayor, Paul will publish the
overarching spatial plan for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough in 2026.
He shares our view that the focus on Housing development should be on regenerating the city centre and existing urban areas, not further suburban sprawl.

We have also had positive engagement from the new PCC leadership, with visits to the Hanglands and JCC now scheduled.

We continue to seek constructive dialogue with our MP, Sam Carling, but despite multiple emails and other messages , we have not heard from him in recent months.
You can write to him directly at: [email protected]

OUR COMMITTMENT
PRP is working hard to protect Castor and Ailsworth as a thriving village community within an irreplaceable rural landscape.

We are entirely volunteer-run, with individuals bringing professional expertise across Planning, Ecology, Heritage, Sustainability, Regeneration & Growth , Land management, Law, Finance and Communications.
Like many of you, we are juggling work, family life, and childcare — but we are united in our commitment to defending our countryside and shaping a better future for our city.

Please continue to follow and share updates:
Facebook & Instagram: Protect Rural Peterborough.
Look out for our next leaflet and further Community Facebook announcements soon.

Please let us have any comments below and thoughts below
Together, we can ensure our villages and landscape are protected — not just for today, but for future generations.
Martin Chilcott (Chair)
KBO x

24/10/2025

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow took the time last week to come and meet the John Clare Countryside Partners and hear about landscape scale nature recovery (23,000 acres), sustainable agriculture and the Visitor economy benefits of helping Pubs, Cafes and Shops to thrive.
Then we all piled into Milton's long wheelbase Land Rover for a tour of what's at stake.

Half way round he decided to do this video with the backdrop of Castor Hanglands.

Our Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow, really does 'get' what John Clare countryside is all about.

It's also heartening to read some of his support for the people of Glinton
- message starts -

"I want to see more homes for young people and families. But that cannot be at the expense of rural communities. It’s not fair that a place like Glinton that has already seen lots of development ends up having to take even more when there are plenty of options elsewhere.

As Mayor of , , the City Council’s Local Plan would have to complement a wider Spatial Development Strategy I am working up.
With that comes planning powers for the Mayor similar to those used by the Mayor of London.
I am fully prepared to use these to protect against inappropriate developments.

We are putting this Spatial Development Strategy together now for publication next year.
In it I shall make sure rural Peterborough is protected and villages like Glinton treated fairly. This number of homes is not fair on Glinton and I oppose them.

I want to see more places in urban Peterborough explored for homes and housing. I have got exciting plans for the City Centre and regeneration.
These plans would negate the need to build all over Glinton.

I am standing 100% behind you and I shall work with Gerry and parish councillors to ensure Peterborough City Council hears this message loud and clear. ‼️"

-message ends -

More Urban Regeneration.
Removing the need for Greenfield development.

Exactly what PRP has been saying.

Homes for young people and families in the right place.

Greenfield development at Castor & Ailsworth is the wrong development in the wrong place.

Homes England and Peterborough City Council take note.

AND Nene Park Trust for that matter.

Protect Rural Peterborough wants to work with politicians from all parties to secure the right outcome for rural Peterborough and indeed the whole city

Martin Chillcott
Chair
Protect Rural Peterborough.

23/09/2025

A nice introduction to John Clare and the threat to John Clare Countryside.
Big thanks to Elaine Wakerley who worked with the publisher on our Peasant Poet
https://www.mardles.org/magazine/features/818-john-clare-poet-and-musician?fbclid=IwdGRjcAM_-o9jbGNrAz_6TGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeihwHBKcTPuajn2JLOsAAYG-NlLvUno-uu2WYdUnHIk4tdRe7yaYhgvOfWME_aem_nJEzQyBYL6ZSXhiF1fWYvQ

Discover folk music and dance in East Anglia

03/09/2025

Local Nature Recovery Strategy - PLEASE HELP (with 8 minutes of your time please)
You can help communicate why the land around our villages is so special.
The impact on nature of unsustainable suburban sprawl proposed by Homes England , will be very bad for nature, especially Castor Hanglands but also in the fileds surrounding the village.

Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is a new initiative which each local authority must implement and is intended to inform policy on the natural environment, including planning policy and how any local and national funding for nature conservation is allocated.

The development of a Local Nature Recovery plan for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire will have some influence over the development of the new Local Plan for Peterborough.

Local authorities (Peterborough City Council) and Combined Authorities must take account of an LNRS in the production of a local plan or joint spatial development strategy.

The Combined Authority are currently running a consultation on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which closes on the 11th September.

The strategy currently identifies the John Clare Countryside and Nene Valley as ‘Priority Landscapes’ and ‘Nature Networks’, with the suggestion that the land around Castor Hanglands should be prioritised for woodland creation, scrub and lowland meadow.
You can complete the consultation here (it took me only 8 minutes) https://yourvoice.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/lnrs/consultation/
You can just answer the first question and then go straight to the end of the survey.
If you do, you could comment that you strongly agree with the John Clare Countryside and Nene Valley being identified as priority landscapes and nature networks, and the identification of land south of Castor Hanglands as areas that could become of particular importance for biodiversity.

If you have more time, you could:
- go to question 6 and agree with the actions identified for woodland and grassland, and
- question 11 and agree or strongly agree that the plan accurately identifies the areas that could become of particular importance for biodiversity.

This is just a small but important part of our campaign to Protect Rural Peterborough

Thanks for doing this by next Thursday (11th Sept).

Martin Chillcott
Chair PRP

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