Peterborough given thousands to protect city's heritage

Residents can have their say when the consultation opens later this year

Residents are being urged to have their say on Peterborough's most valued historic sites after the city was given thousands of pounds of government money.

Peterborough City Council have been successful with a bid for £38,000 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to expand the authority’s Local List of heritage assets.

The bid was submitted as part of a government campaign encouraging communities to nominate historic buildings and assets which they would like to be preserved for future generations to enjoy. The scheme is linked to the #buildbackbetter initiative to support communities following the pandemic.

A local list protects historic assets by ensuring they are given consideration in any future planning matters. It can include anything that forms part of the ‘historic environment’ including buildings, archaeology, historic landscape, street features, historic open spaces, historic parks and gardens. A Local List of heritage assets works alongside historic assets which are already protected for their national interest, such as Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments.

Peterborough already has a Local List, but this mainly includes assets in the city centre. The aim of this initiative is to survey the entire district and include all aspects of the historic environment.

Councillor Peter Hiller, cabinet member for strategic planning, commercial strategy and investments, said: “The main purpose of this unique project is to conserve and highlight our local heritage. There are many historic assets which are important to our communities and that’s why we want to get them involved with this.

“A public consultation will commence in due course, asking residents to nominate heritage assets that they value and would like to conserve. We expect this to take place later this year in summer or autumn and would encourage everyone to get involved.”

Toby Wood, from Peterborough Civic Society said: "The Civic Society is delighted to hear of this award and looks forward to taking part in nominating historic assets for inclusion.

"We played an active part in drawing up the Council's current list of buildings of local historic and architectural interest some years ago, but this new initiative is especially welcome because it recognises that historic features that communities value range far wider than individual buildings."

The scheme will be carried out in conjunction with the John Clare Country Project and the Peterborough Civic Society.

As part of the consultation, residents will be able to nominate assets online and include useful information and photographs.

It is anticipated that the project will be completed by March 2022.