Civic Pride: My three wishes for Peterborough in 2025… let’s see some spades in the ground!

Why do I know that? Because you take the time and trouble to either buy this newspaper or to read it online. So I know that you want Peterborough to ‘do the right thing” whatever that might be.

Here we are again, in December, the time when we look back at the past year and look forward to the next. It has to be said that 2024 has been a year of change in Peterborough, particularly on the political front. During the year the leadership of Peterborough City Council changed (yet again) and we have two new MPs who have been elected and have joined a House of Commons full of newbies.

At this point I must make it very clear that in today’s political climate, I would hate to be a member of any

party and to have the responsibility of making decisions, particularly in these days of ‘tough choices’, in other words budget cuts. It strikes me that, particularly at a local level, elected representative of all parties are financially hamstrung when it comes to trying to take the city forward positively.

So, allow me the indulgence of putting forward three wishes for 2025. Each of these is realistic and achievable, honest!

First, I want to see the Towns Fund projects fully funded and completed. I’m fed up of just hearing about The Vine, the Lincoln Road upgrade or the Ferry Meadows climbing wall. So much talk has taken place around ‘Build the Bridge’ across the river Nene but as yet we see nothing. Politicians of all parties have been promoting the so-called Station Quarter improvements from the station to the city centre, whether that be via Towns Fund or Levelling-Up money. Let 2025 be the year when we see the proverbial ‘spades in the ground’.

Failure to match-fund and complete most of these projects will be seen as a massive excuse for Peterborians to say, “we knew it wouldn’t happen’.

Secondly, I would love to see the council’s Visitor Economy Strategy, as approved by the Cabinet in

October, transfer from paper into practice. As it says on the Council website, “Its aim will be for Peterborough City Council to play a leadership role in capitalising on our local visitor economy’s growth potential by creating the conditions for it to thrive and attract visitors.”

There is so much goodwill from all those on the city’s Tourism Collective, from Burghley House to the Cathedral, Railworld and all stops in between, yet the public need to see action. In 2025 let’s see a concerted effort to advertise and promote our city to visitors from near and far – let’s use various websites, the Peterborough Telegraph, The Moment magazine, Radio Cambridgeshire and all our visitor attractions to shout about themselves as well as each other! Is it really that difficult?

Eventually I would love to see a Visit Peterborough app? Now there’s a thought!

Thirdly, I would love the Ukraine war to come to an end so that ‘Helping Our Friends In Ukraine’, the local fundraising group, could spend their money, time and effort in positive activities such as reaffirming cultural, heritage and human links with Vinnytsia, twinned with Peterborough. Believe it or not Peterborough is twinned with four other cities in addition to Vinnytsia – Bourges (France), Forlì (Italy), Alcalá de Henares (Spain) and Viersen (Germany). Wouldn’t it be something if, by the end of 2025, we could at least be starting to possess the time, energy, money and vision to look outside our own city boundaries?

So come on Peterborough, in particular our ‘movers and shakers’, let’s enjoy the Christmas festivities and then, in January 2025, hit the ground running with renewed vigour, a ‘can-do’ attitude and what this city currently appears to be lacking – the ‘glint in the eye’! In the meantime Merry Christmas one and all!

•On Monday 13 January the Civic Society will hold its Annual General Meeting. This will be followed by our monthly talk, ‘Antiquarian or Archaeologist? Edmund Tyrell Artis (1789-1847), his life and work around

Peterborough. The talk will be given by Professor Stephen Upex of the Institute of Continuing Education,

Cambridge University, at our usual venue of St Marks Church Hall, Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1

2SN. Doors open at 7.15pm for 7.45 start. Non-members are welcome but we rely totally on subscriptions

and donations, therefore we request that a donation of £5.00 is made, unless they become members of the Society on the night. Membership forms will be available. All welcome – see you there!