PLANS for a major residential expansion on the outskirts of Huntingdon are moving forward – but not with the expected developer.

PLANS for a major residential expansion on the outskirts of Huntingdon are moving forward – but not with the expected developer.

Farmland lying between the A14, A141 and Ermine Street has been earmarked by Huntingdonshire District Council for residential development and has previously been subject to an application for outline planning permission for more than 1,000 homes by developer Persimmon Homes.

However, the landowners have now employed planning consultants John Martin and Associates in a bid to gain their own permission for a large-scale residential development.

The Godmanchester-based company has written to Huntingdon Town Council to “engage” them in the early stages of the planning process.

In his letter to town clerk Karen Cameron, principal planner at John Martin and Associates, William Allwood, said the proposed development would include homes, a primary school, local centre, public open space and improvement works to the A14 and A141/Ermine Street junction. A new bus route would be introduced, linking the site to the railway station and the residential and business areas of Hinchingbrooke. Other amenities would include a village green, sports pitches, informal play spaces and allotments. The council’s planning committee will discuss the proposals at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday).

Mr Allwood told The Hunts Post that the landowner’s development would be of a similar scale to that proposed by Persimmon.

The Persimmon scheme, known as NorthBridge, included the provision of 1,150 homes, as well as shops, a public house/restaurant, sports pitches and a community centre. They also planned to pay for improvements to St Peter’s School, upgrade local transport links and build a “landmark” footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists, linking the development with Huntingdon town centre. However, the plans appear to have stalled some years ago and, when contacted by The Hunts Post, Persimmon did not wish to comment on their plans or the landowners’ decision to submit their own planning application.