A bid to build 200 houses on a 22-acre site in Wisbech has begun.

East Sussex based Wellsbridge Estates Ltd has opened talks with Fenland District Council about a potential application.

The company has submitted a screening opinion which will allow the council to determine the requirements of any planning application.

Wellsbridge says the site is to the east of Stow Road, Wisbech, and east of “the established edge of the town and to the south of the Walsoken area”.

The land is currently used for a mix of arable, grazing, orchards, horticulture, informal open space, and mature woodland.

“It is not considered that proposals would lead to the loss of land which yields any economic benefit since there is no active agricultural use on site”, says the company.

“On this basis the change of use of the land is not considered to present a significant impact.”

And it sits almost entirely within Flood Zone 1, which would mean is has less than a 0.1 per cent chance of flooding.

Wellsbridge says to the west and north of the site, two-storey housing and bungalows form the primary development style.

And to the south is an area land and buildings associated with horticulture activities of the College of West Anglia.

“It is intended that access to the site can be achieved from Stow Road,” says Wellsbridge.

The company says a “detailed constraints analysis” of the 22 acres is being undertaken which suggests 200 homes are possible there.

It is focusing on the “immediate accessibly” of Stow Road to access the site and looking to see how pedestrians and cyclists can access the town centre.

It hopes to promote “sustainable movement patterns.

“Development of the site would be serviceable from Stow Road, and Wellsbridge Estates has commissioned a traffic assessment.”

It says it will be able to show the existing capacity of roads will be able to serve the new estate.

"Furthermore, the development provides the opportunity to implement a programme of traffic calming in the immediate area,” says Wellsbridge.

This would “reduce vehicle speeds and increase safety.

“Whatever measures were included in such a scheme would be wholly funded from the development”.

They also promise a “varied mix” of housing including “a proportion of affordable and other specialised housing to meet social and community needs”.