Road upgrades to be approved ahead of new homes

Major highway works needed to support a large housing development in Peterborough have taken a step forward.

The Norwood Urban Extension will include 2,000 new homes, a community centre and a primary school, near Newborough Road in Paston.

Outline planning applications have been approved for both phases of the project, but only 200 homes can be occupied across the whole urban extension before major A16/A47 highway works begin.

This is because the proposed development was considered by National Highways to have a "severe impact" on the strategic road network.

Dualling of the A16 between the A47/A16 junction, a new A16 roundabout and a new foot and cycle bridge over the A47 are among the many works to be carried out.

Peterborough City Council is seeking to secure approximately £4.5m from the housing developers to assist with future construction costs, including the new access roundabout on the A16 and a new access junction with Newborough Road providing residents with direct access to the A16.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has previously funded the £130,000 strategic outline case, the outline business case and preliminary design cost of £630,000 - and the provisional full business case and detailed design, costing £1.2m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A report to go before Peterborough City Council's cabinet on Tuesday will seek approval to enter a funding agreement with the CPCA, which has awarded a further £727,000 towards the highway works.

"Earlier business cases focused on developing the highway elements and the majority of this new funding will be used to develop and finalise the active travel elements," the cabinet report stated.

It added: "The highway improvements will help unlock the full allocation of houses, as well as the community centre and primary school.

"Significant active travel measures will be developed to encourage more people to walk and cycle, reducing congestion and carbon emissions."

The cabinet meeting will be held on Tuesday at 16:00 BST at Sand Martin House.

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