Civic Pride: Will our ever-changing city centre cease to be a retail attraction?

With as straight a face as possible I say: “Please don’t stand still for more than ten minutes in Peterborough city centre … if you do you may be converted into flats.”

There is an audible sigh of relief when folk realise that this is a ‘joke”. However, there is a smidgeon of truth in what I say, every time I go into town something new seems to have popped up and it’s not a new shop.

There is a widely held feeling that “there’s no reason to go to the town centre any more …. there aren’t any decent shops.”

When I talk to people from Walton, Thorney, Stanground or Castor, it is very noticeable that they shop out of town, their main reasons being choice, accessibility and free parking. One Werrington wag recently told me that the furthest south in the world he now goes is Morrison’s on Lincoln Road.

This is quite a conundrum for Peterborough city centre and many others up and down the land.

There are increasingly fewer shops and other retail outlets in our city centre yet there are growing numbers of flats and other dwellings. We have Fletton Quays, Northminster and seemingly innumerable smaller developments and conversions popping up all over the place.

Presumably the residents in these new properties have to eat and shop. Do they have food delivered? Are they going out every night? Do they travel to out-of-town shopping centres? I’m sure that you, dear reader, have an answer so why not let me know via the PT letters page?

We have increasing numbers of students at our thriving ARU (Anglia Ruskin University) who would surely benefit from an increased number of shops and eateries. Perhaps that’s where possible future development of the Embankment around the Key Theatre comes into play!

There appears to be a worrying trend, one that is certainly exercising the Civic Society. Bridge Street, one of our premier thoroughfares, is changing in nature. Long gone are the independent shops and now even national chains appear to be struggling to survive. A recent example is that the recently-closed The Works store seems set to be an extension of New Horizon Amusements – something called an ‘adult gaming centre’.

The mind boggles! Is this a place where my civic society colleagues can go and play strip poker? Dear reader, if you saw the state of my civic society friends, the very thought of this would give you nightmares for a month!

Without wishing to sound pompous, is this really the best that Peterborough can do – an adult gaming centre?

On the bright side, I am delighted that Bridge Street has a number of independent and small-chain eateries and cafes and, in the early evening at least, there is a pleasant city centre vibe.

However I am also hearing of instances when people do not feel safe – something needs to happen to ensure that the city centre feels safe all day long. At this point I must acknowledge the sterling efforts of Peterborough Positive – I know that Pep Cipriano and his colleagues are doing what they can to improve things.

Incidentally, it would be great if Invesco, the owners of Queensgate, were given a page in the PT so that they could explain their short, medium and long-term plans for the centre. If we knew what they were then perhaps we could support them in their objectives.

We must remember that the city centre is not a place that belongs to somebody else. It is our city centre. Perhaps our own habits are changing.

For instance, I regularly go to town for a wander, visit the museum, cathedral and then have a bite to eat and a few beers.

How do you use the city centre?

Perhaps the solution is under our noses. We should now treat the city centre as an entertainment destination, a place to visit from both near and far for a couple of hours, half or full day. Perhaps the days of city centre shopping is vanishing, nearly gone.

Shopping be damned. RIP city centre shopping. Discuss!