Motorway fans in Peterborough are celebrating after plan for 650 homes was refused

Speedway fans have welcomed the decision to reject plans for 650 homes, which would have seen the demolition and construction of a track and grandstand.

Peterborough City Council refused to grant permission for the development of the East of England Exhibition Groundsbut approved another application for 850 homes and a leisure village on the same site, subject to conditions.

The venue had been home to the Peterborough Panthers Speedway team for 50 years, but they were excluded from developer AEPG’s £50m plans.

The Save the Peterborough Panthers The group has called the refusal “a momentous achievement”, with campaigners saying “hopes of a return to the Peterborough Freeway remain alive”.

Independent councilor for nearby Orton Waterville, Julie Stevenson, who has been fighting alongside campaigners, called for both applications to be refused.

He called it a “big win” and said the fans’ “courage” played a “big part” in the committee’s decision.

“It remains to be seen whether the freeway can or will return to the precinct,” he said.

“The land is owned by the East of England Agricultural Society and we hope … they will now work with the motorway supporters’ consortium to find a way to keep the motorway in Peterborough.”

The motorway track and its grandstand are located in the part of the exhibition grounds covered by the 650-housing development.

These plans were rejected for fear of an “overdevelopment” of the area.

The British Speedway Promoterswho runs the sport, said he “would like to congratulate the Peterborough campaign team for their hard work and reaffirm our position that the sport should return to this historic and much-loved venue”.

The two development plans for a total of 1,500 homes on the 164-acre site attracted more than 900 objections.

The application for 850 homes was approved with a number of conditions set over the next six months, including improvements to Oundle Road and the Orton Parkway roundabout.

Independent councilor Kirsty Knight, who initially backed the plans, said while she was “pleased” and hoped they would help with the city’s housing shortage, she now had some “serious concerns”.

“Roads mitigation conditions were imposed for the application of 850 homes assuming 1,500 homes were built and the plans approved,” he said.

“But now I am worried about the congestion the development will have if the conditions are not met.

“They (AEPG) were obliged to comply with them if they built more than 900 homes and only the plan for 850 homes was approved. This was an oversight by the commission that should have thought about it before rejecting the second plan

“From my understanding, I don’t think the speedway has a chance at the venue, but I appreciate the passion and I’m happy to work with them and find another location.”

An AEPG spokesman said: “We are delighted that the officer’s recommendation has been approved for the main application.

“We will continue to work closely with the (council’s) planning team on the next steps to progress the development of the precinct.”

They did not respond to questions from the BBC about the future of the show track and motorway at the site.