Opinion: ‘New era for city is about to begin’

As our city’s MP, the biggest part of my job is simple. It’s to put Peterborough front and centre for investment and resources. We got another huge boost this week.

The Government announced it has earmarked £23 million of Towns Fund cash to regenerate our City Centre. Peterborough is one of just 7 places in the country to be prioritised for investment.

What will this mean? You have probably seen or heard about the plans already.

As a reader of this website, you have probably read about them.

Top of the list is regenerating the railway station and the area around it, particularly North Westgate. We also want to create a new future for Northminster and the City Market.

With our new University already underway, this latest investment will help make our City’s wider plans a reality. It not only gives us the money we need to start, but it also gives investors the confidence that the Government is right behind us.

It means new homes and offices close to a rebuilt, modern station. It means a new base for our creative industries. It means new retail and hospitality at North Westgate and a revitalised market.

We can all see boarded-up pubs and shops. This investment allows us to put an end to a situation where these buildings lie empty.

It means more trade for our pubs and restaurants, with a safe and secure night-time economy. It means more highly-paid jobs and better open spaces for everyone to enjoy.

The old Woolworths building on Bridge Street is just a stone’s throw from the new University. One of the first steps is to bring the site back into use, building a culture hub, with a library and a centre for lifelong learning.

This is just the start of a confident future for Peterborough, allowing our neighbourhoods to prosper. We can remove the blight of crime, litter and anti-social behaviour as we make progress.

Some will scoff, because some revel in being negative. But with a project like this, starting is the most difficult thing.

The Government’s announcement follows months of hard work from Peterborough City Council and its partners, including Opportunity Peterborough, the Nene Park Trust, City Fibre, the City College and many more. They all deserve our credit and thanks. They worked closely with myself and Shailesh Vara MP who has also worked hard lobbying Ministers to help deliver this funding.

I hope my confidence in our City is clear – we can do this.

Yet there are threats to this vision. My biggest fear is a change of administration at Peterborough City Council. We need to keep our council Conservative to make the vision a reality.

A coalition of chaos formed of Greens, the Lib Dems and the very left-wing Peterborough Labour Party is the alternative. They are all obsessed with loony ideas like renaming Gladstone Street and keener on protests than regeneration.

At a moment when our local COVID cases remain under control, Labour want to lock Peterborough down, not lift it up. They actively encourage people to think the worst of our City.

I think they have misread the most important stakeholders – the people of Peterborough.

If we get this opportunity right, our future will be bright. The Government backs us and the first part of the job is done. The next one is about to begin.