A VISION for 3,000 new homes in the north of Ely is set to go out to public consultation.

Councillors at East Cambridgeshire District Council will decide today (Thursday) whether to approve the new ‘North Ely Supplementary Planning Document’ for consultation with residents of the district.

If approved, the consultation is likely to take place between October and November.

The document outlines a 25-year vision for thousands of new homes to the north of the city, which could take Ely’s population up to 27,000 over the next two decades.

The site being proposed for the development extends to almost 500 acres of land, the majority of which is Grade 2 soil – among the best available - and currently being used for farming.

Most of the land is owned either by the Church of England or Endurance Estates, the property arm of the Lee family of farmers. The church has already entered plans for the first phase of its 800-home plan while Endurance are expected to enter their own plans for hundreds of new homes in the autumn.

As well as new homes, the vision sets out plans for new shops, community leisure facilities, an extension of Ely’s country park,

The document also promises to maintain an independent character for the hamlet of Chettisham while prioritising walking and cycling.

Expanded facilities at the Princess of Wales Hospital are discussed as are a new community centre, primary school, micro-library and religious building.

Shirley Blake, sustainable development officer at the district council, said: “The results of this consultation will be reported back to this committee and amendments made to the document as appropriate. It will then be adopted as a formal planning guidance alongside the forthcoming East Cambridgeshire Local Plan when this is formally adopted.”

In order to help speed up delivery of the project, the council has been boosted by a grant of almost £380,000 from the Government to help it cope with the planning and administration.

The council says the funding will be used for the costs of public consultation, as well

as staff resource and studies required in taking the development forward.