Civic Pride: Peterborough's ‘unfortunate visual reminders’

So when campaigning began last month for the local elections Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised a “clampdown on potholes” that resonated with many people. You can see potholes, you can hear potholes when you clunk over them and you can tut loudly when nothing has been done to fix them. Peterborough people are visual, we comment on what we see – good and bad.

In the same way I am convinced that many people voted in favour of Brexit because they literally saw mattresses lying on pavements outside houses. Rightly or wrongly they equated dumped mattresses with overcrowding and HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) and felt that by reducing immigration many of society’s problems would be solved.

There are quite a few other visual touchstone issues in our fair city that get people going. Mention Cathedral Square fountains not working to Peterborians and most will proffer a firm opinion whilst simultaneously frothing at the mouth. Perhaps one day the city’s leaders will cease to use the words ‘fountains’ and ‘technical difficulties’ in the same sentence.

Another example - as my wife and I walk to London Road to watch Posh we walk past the hoarding on the as yet unfinished Hilton hotel on the south side of the Nene river bridge – it reads ‘New 160 Bedroom Hotel Coming Summer 2022’. There is still no actual opening date but the hoarding itself is a visual reminder of something yet to be completed.

In Queensgate we see empty units and a rather large John Lewis-size hole in the middle. I fully realise that the current times are economically hard but let’s hope that the relevant authorities have plans in place to rejuvenate the city once things improve. It’s not a good look.

Sadly we are also still waiting for North Westgate, the largely derelict area that visitors first see when they leave the railway station, to be developed. The ping-pong ball of blame continues to be batted between the Council and Hawksworth Securities PLC, the latter going so far as to pay for a PT advert stating their position a couple of weeks ago, However the fact remains that this is yet another example of what I am talking about – a visual reminder of what we perceive to be inertia and inaction.

Those who know me well know that I care about Peterborough, how it appears now, its future and its people. I have been accused by some of being negative. On the contrary, many of my comments and opinions, and those of the Civic Society, are grounded in wanting the best for our city, combined with the fact that all too often we seem to lack the flair, imagination and political cooperation to really get things done.

Another very visual issue is planting and flower beds. Paucity of council finances has meant that there has been far less colour adorning much of the city so far this spring. An example of this has been the flower beds surrounding the willow tree in Central Park. These have been empty for quite a while but thankfully help is at hand.

The Civic Society, led by chairman David ‘Capability’ Turnock, has taken on the responsibility of negotiating with relevant Council officers to ensure that some planting occurs. The Civic Society has plans. Watch this space!

I, like many others, want to open my front door in the morning and see that the world in general, and my Peterborough world in particular, is just that little bit better than it was yesterday. Of course we all have our own view about what ‘a little bit better’ looks like and let’s hope we can continue to debate that in a civilised way.

I’m sure that you, dear PT reader, will have plenty of other suggestions. Why not share your views, perhaps on the letters page?