Plans to extend Peterborough’s café culture welcomed

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the introduction of al-fresco dining in the city centre, with several restaurants introducing outdoor seating when welcoming back customers post-lockdown.

And the intention is to not only make the arrangement permanent but also extend it in the future.

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Here comes Peterborough’s ‘cafe culture’

Peterborough City Council cabinet member for housing, culture and recreation Cllr Steve Allen told the Peterborough Telegraph: “There are plans to make the city centre much more suitable and much more populated by al-fresco dining opportunities. That is on the horizon.

“I’ve had a walk around with Toby (Wood) from the civic society who is very passionate about making the continental theme of Peterborough more pronounced.

“We were looking at locations where outdoor dining potential could be achieved and there are plenty of them.”

Cllr Allen said the council will now look at developing options.

He also said the restaurant scene is “thankfully motoring again” after the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme which saw meals subsidised up to 50 per cent for a limited period.

Cllr Allen added: “A lot of people who hadn’t been going out went out and found it wasn’t quite the Armageddon that they had worried about.”

Toby, who is vice chair of Peterborough Civic Society, said: “Peterborough has the chance to be different, to be innovative and to try something that is commonplace in many towns and cities on the continent.

“If you go to many cafés abroad, particularly in parts of Belgium and France, you will be able to sit outside at any time of year. Many cafés are equipped with heavy duty awnings complete with heating systems that mean that customers are able to sit outside even on the most windy, cold or rainy of days.

“Peterborough has the opportunity to do something similar, particularly bearing in mind that we may well need to socially distance for quite some time ahead.

“Some of our city centre streets are virtually car-free and would lend themselves to this development. However, there needs to be a coordinated look at the city centre, not just random, piecemeal development.

“Peterborough City Council should consider taking the lead on this. There are some areas of the city that would be perfect to develop – namely Queen Street, Cumbergate, the area around St John’s Square and Bridge Street. All of these areas are pedestrianised and are currently, to some small degree, being developed as outside seated areas by individual companies.

“Awnings or substantial umbrellas could be erected in various of these locations, virtually permanent structures that would allow for all-year round usage. Cumbergate in particular lends itself to this – there are a number of empty units which could be specifically for eating or drinking establishments in the future.

“Of course, as usual, foresight and funding are crucial. Let’s see if aspiration can be turned into reality.”

Toby added that there needs to be “monitoring and quality control” to make sure there is not “shoddy, piecemeal development”.

He continued: “Cathedral Square should be left as a large open space (with the fountains switched on occasionally) and not populated by burger vans!”

This is one of a four-part interview with Cllr Allen about the future of Peterborough’s culture and leisure scene.

Further articles will appear at www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk.