Opinion: ‘A little more hope for the future...’

With the Prime Minister announcing a roadmap out of lockdown this week, we can all look towards the future with a little more hope.

The past couple of months of lockdown have been very tough. Now we’re getting towards spring and glimpses of warmer weather, thoughts will be turning to seeing our loved ones again.

However, the roadmap is a cautious first step and we are not out of the woods yet. Here in Peterborough, case rates have steadily declined in recent weeks, but they are still high in comparison to other areas.

There are several reasons for this. Namely we have many people working in frontline jobs such as in warehouses who cannot work from home, which increases their risk of contracting and transmitting the virus.

We are actively working with partners to reduce infection rates and are making good progress with the recent launch of rapid testing and continued vaccine rollout.

The vaccine has been given to thousands of people of people locally, including myself and several other city councillors. I’m feeling fine and would urge everyone to accept the jab when offered it.

I must remind everyone to continue to follow the guidelines so that we can move out of lockdown for good. Please stay at home and only go out for essential reasons, stick to social distancing, wash your hands regularly and wear a face covering when required.

As part of our drive to support communities during the pandemic, we held the second Peterborough Summit this week, focussed on fighting for the future of our city and our plans for coming out of lockdown.

The virtual meeting saw over 50 community leaders come together and was a really positive event, highlighting some of the fantastic work that has taken place so far.

This includes our Community Hub, which has provided hundreds of vulnerable residents with everyday essentials, our efforts to support businesses with government grants and our schools and health services, which have coped remarkably with unprecedented issues.

The council’s work to reach out to communities, such as our online videos highlighting the national guidance in different languages, was also singled out for praise.

Whilst everyone was highly appreciative of the work so far, we also accept that we must continue to help those in need. There can be no let up just because a way out of lockdown is in sight.

So we will continue to play our part – the Community Hub will carry on its sterling work and we will help businesses in need and those looking to re-open. We will support our health service with rapid testing and work with schools as they prepare to open their gates again.

There is a long way to go, but we are making progress. In the meantime, rest assured that we will continue to do everything we can to keep the city moving forward.

Our ambitious regeneration plans for Peterborough continue to gather pace with plans for a new library, culture and community hub moving forward. Situated in the 89,000sq.ft three-story TK Maxx and former New Look building in Bridge Street, the new hub - which will be named ‘The Vine’ - could accommodate many exciting facilities including a learning resource centres, art gallery, café, visitor hub and study area.

Final costings for the scheme are being developed and will be funded by the government’s Towns Fund, which is supporting several other exciting developments across the city.

The Vine will have a use for all, including residents to meet up with others, socialise and access culture and services, tourists looking for information on where to visit in our city and start-up businesses and voluntary organisations looking for support or a base to work from.

The building’s aim is to drive visitor footfall that will be of wider benefit to retail and other businesses in Bridge Street and will be ideally positioned in a key route from the city centre, towards the new University and the refreshed Embankment/River Front and Fletton Quays.

Public consultation on the plans will be taking place in 2021/22, so watch this space.

We recently launched the ‘Laptops for Children’ campaign aimed at getting computers and internet access to young people that need it most.

A phenomenal £567,845 has been raised after just two weeks thanks to support from businesses and individuals. This is in addition to £300,000 which the council’s Cabinet has committed from its capital programme budget, sufficient to purchase 1,062 laptops and 460 4G routers.

Several Peterborough city councillors have also pledged to use funds from a community support scheme to help, raising over £17,600, which will buy 54 laptops.

Our target is to continue to secure sufficient funding so that every child and young person in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has both the equipment and access to broadband that they need to maintain learning and education in their homes.