Plans for an estate with 1,200 homes in March revealed

Proposals for an estate with 1,200 homes, a primary school and convenience shops have been revealed in a report outlining the scheme.

The proposed development - known as West March - also includes a primary school, open space, activity areas, allotments and convenience shops.

Affordable housing will be “pepper potted” throughout.

Persimmon Homes has indicated a future planning application will outline its plans to develop almost 125 acres of land off the A141 in West March.

The site - which is also north of Knight’s End Road and west of The Avenue - has already been allocated for future development in Fenland’s local plan which was adopted in 2014.

If the scheme is given the go-ahead, the site will be accessed from Knight’s End Road and the A141 as well as other existing roads which link Knight’s End Road to the south of the site with The Avenue, Wimblington Road, Church Street and Steeple view to the east.

At the moment, the site is currently made up of agricultural fields with trees and hedgerows which define the field boundaries.

Persimmon Homes says a public consultation focusing on the broad concept of the development is planned for this autumn and it will “continue to engage with the community” afterwards.

The proposals for West March were revealed in its recent application to Fenland District Council for a scoping opinion request.

This very early stage of the planning process is where the developer of a significant scheme seeks guidance from a planning authority about what information should be included in the development’s environmental impact assessment.

While the final description of the overall development may be amended in the planning application, Persimmon Homes is likely to apply initially for outline permission for 1,200 homes with the primary school, convenience shops and other supporting infrastructure.

With the same application, full planning permission will also be sought for 350 of the estate’s homes for the first phase as well as the open space, landscaping, access from Knight’s End Road and the pedestrian / cycle link to Kingswood Road.

“... although these maximum figures [for homes] may be reduced for the application submission following more detailed masterplanning and technical work being completed,” explains the scoping report.

An environmental impact assessment can have a considerable influence on a development’s final plan.

For the West March scheme, it will aim to ensure Fenland District Council’s decision on the proposals are made in the full knowledge of any likely effects the development may have on the environment and habitat.

Persimmon Homes has proposed covering a range of issues including air quality, noise and vibrations as well as ecology and nature conservation in its final environmental statement.