Minister officially launches Peterborough’s new university

The minister spoke at a special ‘virtual launch’ meeting earlier today and said: “I’m really delighted to be able to join you here for this virtual event, and I must say realising your twenty-year long ambition for Peterborough to have a University is absolutely fantastic and I’m delighted to be able to share in this momentous achievement.

“I know that it has only been possible because of the work down my Mayor James Palmer during this agenda and also Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and its partners such as Peterborough City Council and of course Anglian Ruskin University and other key stake holders – so well done and thank you  to everybody who has been involved.

“Universities are crucial to our society as institutions they are woven deeply into the fabric of our local communities and into our national reputation and I think it is fair to say that we have seen this more than ever before in the last few months, and we all know the value that they play in our society both at a local and a national level.

“So, I am delighted that we will all soon be welcoming ARU Peterborough into the fold – ARU Peterborough’s ambition is to attract a diverse student population and to improve social mobility as well as providing students with the employment and skills that they need which are absolutely fundamental.

“It will not only be a benefit to Peterborough but to the country as a whole, and I applaud the ambitions to have 12.500 students by 2030, and the lives that that will really transform.

“It is also important to note that the economy is also going to benefit in the not too distant future from this £30m investment with the 2020/21 construction program employing 550 people which is not insignificant.

“Additionally, I’m told that over 330 people will need to staff the university buildings, rising to 700 by 2025/26 with an additional 1,300 indirect jobs created by 2026, and that will rise to 31,500 by 2034/35.

“As universities Minister I’ve been incredibly proud and grateful for the leadership that I’ve seen from our higher education sector and its response to COVID-19and the creative and pragmatic ideas that they’ve managed to develop in such as short space of time.

“And I have no doubt that this will also be the case for ARU Peterborough.

“We have a world-class higher education system that transforms lives and is a great contributor both to our industrial success and also to the cultural life of our nation.

“So, I really do look forward to ARU Peterborough opening in September 2022, and joining one of the best higher education systems in the world and I believe that this will be both transformational to the city and the region.

“I look forward to coming and actually visiting in person to see how all the hard work is coming along.

“Thank you once again for letting me share in today’s online launch and also in the celebrations.”

The Minister was joined by Conservative Member of Parliament for Peterborough, Paul Bristow MP who said: “Thank you Minister – during this pandemic I seem to have been on countless online zoom calls and meetings, but this is without a doubt the most exciting zoom call that I’ve been on because the idea that Peterborough has a university is something that we have been talking about in our city for over twenty years.

“As recently said, this has the opportunity to transform the lives for so many young people and also this is an opportunity to regenerate our city and generate a positivity about Peterborough and our future.

“I often talk about our potential as a city and how our best days are ahead of us and this is yet more proof of that.

“It has given people a tremendous opportunity to talk about Peterborough as we are, after all, just fifty minutes from London on a train and we are on the A1.

“Peterborough is where companies are making their home and engineering and manufacturing companies like Perkins, Peter Brotherhood and more recently Photocentric, but this university has the potential to be that missing piece in the jigsaw.

“I grew up in Whittlesey which is a small town just outside Peterborough, and so many of my friends either moved away to go to university taking that talent away from our city, or, didn’t go to university because there wasn’t a university that was offering the right kind of stem courses.

“The prospects that we have to offer right here on our doorsteps in Peterborough is so incredibly exciting.

“I would like to thank you so much and pay tribute to all the work carried out by the Combined Authority and Peterborough City Council, our partners Anglia Ruskin University and everybody whose been involved in this conversation over the last twenty years.

“As I say, I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity – we need to get this right – the future’s bright; the future is Peterborugh”.