It would “not be appropriate” to build over 100 homes on land at the edge of Yaxley, an assessment has concluded.

Huntingdonshire District Council said Folly Farm off London Road was a “sensitive location” and was not an appropriate place for development.

This assessment was made as part of the district council’s work looking for land to allocate for development in its new local plan.

A developer is already trying to get permission to build new homes on the land through a planning application that is being considered by the district council under a separate process.

The proposals to develop the land have been met with backlash from some of the people living in the village.

The district council began the process of putting together a new local plan last year. Local plans are used by authorities to guide future development across the district.

As part of the process to put together the plan, the district council asked for people to suggest sites that could be allocated for development.

The potential development did not have to be for housing, but could be for commercial uses, renewable energy, or open space to increase biodiversity.

So far the district council said it has assessed 369 sites that were put forward.

Of those it said only 192 were considered to potentially be suitable for development.

However, there is no guarantee at this stage whether these sites will be included in the finalised local plan.

One of the plots of land suggested to be allocated for housing development in the new local plan was the land at Folly Farm off London Road.

It was suggested that 130 homes could be built there, including 78 market homes and 52 affordable homes.

However, a report published by the district council said the land would be better used as open space.

The assessment highlighted the Great Haddon development currently taking place on the edge of the village.

The report said: “The concept masterplan for Great Haddon shows that it is proposed that Folly Farm will adjoin the Haddon Common community woodland and a sports park.

“To support these proposed neighbouring land uses and to reduce coalescence between Yaxley and Great Haddon, it would not be appropriate to build on the Folly Farm site.

“The site could however be appropriate for open spaces or biodiversity net gain opportunities which could tie in with proposed land uses.”

The assessment added that the site was in a “sensitive location” and developing it would “result in furthering the sense of coalescence between Yaxley and Great Haddon/Peterborough”.

This is not the first time developing the land at Folly Farm has come up.

A planning application has been submitted to the district council to develop the land and is currently being considered under a separate process.

The outline application proposes to build 115 homes on the land, but these plans have been met with backlash from some in the village.

While under the local plan process the district council has considered it ‘not appropriate’ to develop the land, it will still have to assess this planning application separately to decide if it can go ahead.

Council officers also told councillors at a cabinet meeting on September 10 that this was just the first stage of assessing possible land to include in the local plan.

They said there was now the opportunity for people who proposed the developments to either challenge the district council’s assumptions, or to come back with new information to adjust the proposals.

A 10 week public consultation on the land assessments for the local plan is due to start later this month.