Why could there be 'a new town without a new town plan'?

"A new town - without a new town plan."

That is the tagline for a group calling for a temporary pause to plans for about 15,000 homes in their district.

But what are the concerns and will they be listened to?

The district council area of Huntingdonshire has already seen a faster rate of housebuilding than the national average and plans are afoot for it to become central to the defence sector in the UK, capitalising on nearby RAF Wyton.

But some recent analysis shows it still needs more than 1,200 homes per year to keep up with demand as its population is set to rise by about 55,000 – nearly 30% – by 2046.

As part of its local plan, the council identified potential sites for new homes.

They included bigger sites, like 4,000 houses near RAF Wyton, 4,900 north-east of Huntingdon at Lodge Farm and 3,800 south-east of Godmanchester at The Lattenburys.

But there were also some smaller sites, including 290 north-west of Needingworth and 140 near Bluntisham.

The council's proposed local plan needs submitting to the Planning Inspectorate - alongside all public comments - by the end of the year, before the inspectorate considers it and recommends any changes.

Paul Boothman, from the North Huntingdon and St Ives Cumulative Impact Group, is clear that he wants the area "to have more houses".

So, what is the Pause the Plan campaign calling for?

Boothman says: "It basically means applying the brake momentarily - only for a short time - but just to get the evidence together so we can understand what the cumulative impact is of all of this development.

"Everything that's been looked at so far has been just site by site by site.

"Individually a lot of these sites are, I'm sure, going to be absolutely fine and we're not anti-development, we want housing but we want to make sure that when it's built... it works together, it's not to the detriment of everybody who currently lives here and that the infrastructure that is required is actually put in place."

Boothman draws a parallel to Tempsford just over the border in Bedfordshire, one of the government's planned "new towns".

"What we've got here in terms of our local plan at the moment is pretty much the same size as Tempsford, but nobody will tell you that they've seen a plan that has been built from the base up," he says.

According to a recent district council study, the number of affordable homes is a "pressing issue" for the area, a feeling echoed by local resident Ruth Southworth.

"If you look at the new developments that we've had round here you're talking about houses that [are] around £500,000 to over £1m.

"Is that going to help a young couple wanting to buy their first home? I don't think so."

Concerns have been raised around roads, healthcare and education infrastructure.

"It's very difficult to get an appointment with your GP," says Southworth.

"There was a 'Pause the Plan' petition which, because it attracted so many signatures, ended up being presented to Huntingdonshire District Council.

"They had the opportunity to provide a debate on that petition, they didn't. We got a stock response just saying, well, yes, thank you for your petition. This is what's happening. No debate."

Steve Hodgson is from the Houghton and Wyton flood group. He has fears the current wastewater management system "just can't cope".

"We have a great number of foul water spills into the local watercourses and without serious investment and a huge amount of additional resource, those environmentally damaging events are to become more common."

Originally from Yorkshire, Hodgson moved to the area 12 years ago.

He said: "I certainly wouldn't want anybody to think that I'm trying to build a wall to stop people coming here.

"I actually want people to come here. I'm a father of four, my children need a house, they need the same breaks that I got when I was looking to buy a house.

"But I also want them to come to and live in an environment that works not only for them now, but for them into the future.

"I fear that completely indiscriminate development built on, essentially, hopes rather than good solid plans in regards to water infrastructure will actually detract from the quality of life that new people to the area and my own children... will experience if we stuff it up."

But what about developers?

Those behind the plans near RAF Wyton say alongside the homes the site would also have up to 15 hectares (37 acres) of employment space, contributions to improvements to ease congestion on the A141, a neighbourhood centre with retail, health and community facilities and land to support new schools.

In response to the Pause the Plan campaign, a Huntingdonshire District Council statement said: "We are aware of the concerns raised by the 'Pause the Plan' group and have reflected these in updates to our timetable.

"The next phase of public consultation will now begin in September 2026, providing additional time to consider the initial outcomes of local government reorganisation proposals and to finalise supporting evidence.

"Starting consultation in September also avoids the main summer holiday period while ensuring we can still meet the national deadline.

"Failing to do so would require restarting the local plan under new legislation, delaying the delivery of an up-to-date plan for Huntingdonshire's communities."

Anglian Water said it was working closely with the council to "align new development with the provision of sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure".

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