DEVELOPERS looking to build more houses in St Neots have been warned to keep their hands off the town s green corridor . St Neots Town Council believes four sites, which are being considered as possible locations for new homes, are sacred and should be p

DEVELOPERS looking to build more houses in St Neots have been warned to keep their hands off the town's 'green corridor'.

St Neots Town Council believes four sites, which are being considered as possible locations for new homes, are sacred and should be preserved.

Councillors have passed on their concerns to Huntingdonshire District Council, which is looking for areas where the district's new housing allocation can be built.

Although the process is at a very early stage, and not all of the sites being examined will be considered suitable for housing, 18 areas around St Neots have been identified.

They form part of the Hunts Housing Land Availability Assessment, a draft document prepared by HDC that allows town councils to have their say on the proposed sites.

At the meeting of St Neots Town Council on Wednesday, councillors highlighted four sites that could, if developed, change the town's character.

St Neots Mayor Cllr Paul Ursell said: "We need to object to possible housing being put on these sites as we need to preserve the town's green corridor."

While 14 other sites met with approval, land at Gates Hydraulics (between Station Road and the East Coast mainline), Bedfordia Fields (land on the western side of the river, to the south of the indoor bowls club), land adjacent to Eaton Socon cricket club, and land adjacent to River Glade in Crosshall Road, were deemed unsuitable.

Cllr Ursell said St Neots needed to be protected from over-development and the green corridor - a strip of land running north to south in the town following the path of the River Great Ouse - was essential to this. He said preserving this land would "stop urbanisation and maintain the distinct character of communities on both sides of the river

The 14 sites that did meet with approval included the Alfred Hall Memorial Fields, which is next to St Neots Community College, the Harrison's Garage site, and land at Potton Road.

HDC needs to find space for 11,200 new homes in the district by 2021.

INFORMATION: A forum to discuss the proposals will be held at Huntingdonshire District Council's headquarters in Pathfinder House, Huntingdon, tomorrow (February 8.) Details of all 18 sites, and sites for the rest of the district, can be found in the full report on HDC's website.