Frequently asked

questions

Homes England is the government’s housing and regeneration agency. We believe affordable, quality homes, in well-designed places are key to improving people’s lives.

Place-making, partnership working and a focus on sustainable development are part of our core objectives to create vibrant and thriving communities. Our role is to support the creation of high-quality housing, helping to create jobs and drive local economic growth.

Homes England is committed to creating more homes, helping the government to drive economic growth, and deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, ensuring that high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes become the norm, not the exception. By working with local communities, we’ll ensure everyone – no matter their background – has security, a place to call home, and the opportunity to thrive.

A Local Plan is a strategic planning document that outlines a local authority’s vision for future development in its area, typically for a 15–20-year period. It guides decisions on planning applications and helps shape infrastructure investments and the future pattern of development. Essentially, it’s a local guide to what can be built where, and how.

Please see link here to Peterborough’s Local Plan Review.

Nene Valley Villages presents a long-term and flexible opportunity to provide homes within Peterborough, that supports the city’s regeneration ambitions and vision for the future.

Homes England is the sole landowner of c.350 hectares of land to the north and west of Castor and Ailsworth. The draft Local Plan allocates around 220ha of this land to deliver a new settlement for approximately 3,000 homes and a Country Park.

Homes England is not a developer but has a clear and defined role to deliver housing where it is most needed, promote sustainable development and secure high-quality design. We take a longer-term view on our schemes, prioritising placemaking and ensuring that infrastructure is delivered alongside new homes.

Our representations are accompanied by a draft Ambition Statement which sets out the aspirations for the site and an initial concept for how development could come forward. For more information on our proposals, please see our Representations here and draft Ambition Statement here.

The detail of the Villages will be determined later in the planning process, through the development of a framework masterplan and other supporting strategies as required by the draft Local Plan, and subject to a future planning application process, all of which will seek feedback from the community.

The Nene Valley Villages site is identified in the Draft Local Plan (April 2025) under Strategic Policy LP55: Land North of Castor & Ailsworth. The Draft Local Plan identifies the site as a proposed new settlement and sets out the sites opportunity to deliver approximately 3,000 new homes, with 1,800 of those homes being delivered within the 2024 to 2044 plan period.

As per the council’s current Local Plan timetable, the final decision on whether the site will be included in the Local Plan 2024–2044 will be determined by the council’s adoption which is anticipated to be at the end of 2026.

No. However, as part of our investigation planning, a series of early site investigations and surveys have been undertaken across the Nene Valley Villages site. The surveys are non-intrusive with the aim to gather information to inform the Nene Valley Villages opportunity.

The current opportunity to engage is via the Peterborough Local Plan Review process. Please see link here to Peterborough’s Local Plan Review page.

Subject to the site being allocated within the Local Plan, we will undertake our own public engagement and publish details in due course.

If you have any questions regarding Nene Valley Villages, please email: [email protected]

A review of the published Local Plan Evidence base identified a shortfall in housing number for the early part of the plan period. In line with our Strategic Plan, which sets out our remit to support and accelerate housing delivery, Homes England has identified an area of land outside of the draft allocation to the west of Ailsworth, which could come forward quickly and support early housing delivery.

This additional land is not required to achieve the policy requirements for the draft allocation but is a direct response to the evidence made available during the consultation.

Homes England is not looking to prepare or submit a planning application for this additional site at present.

Any decision as to whether or not this land is taken forward as part of the Local Plan will fall to Peterborough City Council and we would expect it to form part of any future Local Plan consultations.

Village 4 is located to the west of Castor and Ailsworth at the A47 roundabout with Upton Road. This is an additional area of land that Homes England own that has been promoted for additional housing or employment development within the plan period and / or future Plan period.

It has been suggested as part of our response as it would allow Peterborough City Council to be in general conformity with the requirements of the NPPF (Paragraph 22) which requires planning authorities to anticipate and respond to long-term requirements and opportunities, and where strategic scale growth opportunities are identified, for these to be set within a vision that looks further ahead (at least 30 years).

Peterborough City Council will decide if this site is taken forward through the next stages of the Local Plan.