Sponsored by
John Peach: Former leader's 'incredible time'
THE outgoing leader of Peterborough City Council has described his three years in office as an 'incredible journey'.
THE outgoing leader of Peterborough City Council has described his three years in office as an 'incredible journey'.Councillor John Peach (49), who represents the Park ward on the council, will hand over the reigns to councillor Marco Cereste (58) at the local authority's annual meeting on Monday.
He was ousted in an election by the council's Conservative councillors, who chose rival Cllr Cereste as the group's new leader.
Afterwards, Cllr Peach said: "It has been an incredible and amazing experience.
"It has been very hard work – on some days I have had to work for 20 hours a day, but it has been very enjoyable."
See also:
Marco Cereste: Vision for a brighter, more secure future, 14 May 2009
--------------------
And he congratulated his successor on his election victory and wished him good luck for the future.
"I wish Mr Cereste well in his new post. It is very difficult to tell how he will do in his role, as he has a lot more outside interests from the council that will take up a lot of time.
"But he is an experienced man in life. It will be interesting to see how he does."
Cllr Peach said that during his term in office he had enjoyed watching the city being transformed.
He said: "There have been many positive steps forward in the city.
"I think the city is greener and cleaner than it was three years ago.
"It has been good to see The Voyager School and Thomas Deacon Academy, both in Peterborough, growing strong, as has the extensions of other secondary school across the city.
"While I am sure that there are things that we could have done better, I think we got more right than wrong, and that has been reflected at elections."
Despite being ousted as leader of the Conservatives in the city – and therefore as leader of the city council – Cllr Peach said he would continue to serve Park ward.
He said: "I was elected last year with the most votes of any councillor, and I will continue with that role.
"It is up to the new leader if I have any other roles in the council."
Cllr Peach said that having spent six years as a full-time councillor, with three as deputy council leader, he was still considering how best to use his new free time.
Cllr Charles Swift, the longest serving councillor in the city, said Cllr Peach had been a respected leader.
He said: "During his time, John has grown in stature, and has a lot of respect from others as an individual.
"However, I feel he has been a little soft, and he should have exercised his authority on his cabinet.
"Cllr Cereste is right that there are serious issues to tackle, and I think there might be a few shocks now he has the job.
"I am also pleased that we have a new, younger deputy (Matthew Lee). I think it is a nice blend, and will be popular with the residents."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.