Opinion: Exciting events continuing into winter

The sight of packed concerts at the Embankment and successful return of the Peterborough Beer Festival was fantastic to see. We also recently saw thousands of runners and packed pavements as part of the Great Eastern Run, which made a welcome return after a four-year absence.

This weekend sees the clocks go back ahead of Halloween on Monday - as ever, please enjoy the occasion and if you are trick or treating, do so safely and considerately.

As I’ve previously mentioned, we’re fully committed to bringing sought-after activities and events to Peterborough and the good news is that this will continue into the winter months.

First of all, this weekend will see more pop-up stalls at Peterborough City Market in Bridge Street. The stalls are open from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and will complement the goods that are sold by permanent traders at the Food Hall and Outdoor Market and include homemade breads, confectionary and bespoke jewellery.

Next weekend is Fireworks Night and if you haven’t made any plans for the evening, then I’d like to remind people that tickets remain available for a spectacular fireworks display taking place at the East of England showground on Saturday 5 November.

Fireworks Fantasia is hosting the event, with gates opening from 4pm and including live music, a fun fair and more. You can buy tickets online at www.fireworksfantasia.co.uk.

Looking further ahead, one of our most popular events of the year - the Christmas Lights switch-on is now only a few weeks away. It takes place on Friday, November 18, hosted by PCRFM breakfast show host Kev Lawrence, and is sponsored by Peterborough Positive, Princebuild, Nexus Fostering and O&H Land. The event will feature live music and appearances from the city’s various pantomime characters from Peterborough’s theatres before the city is bathed in a fantastic Christmas glow.Don’t forget that following the celebrations, a giant ice rink for Peterborough city centre will be among the new attractions for Christmas shoppers this year. The covered 20x20m rink will be surrounded by fabulous festive stalls, creating an excellent new attraction for Cathedral Square for those looking for gifts in Peterborough city centre.

Earlier this year we announced the permanent closure of St Georges Hydrotherapy pool and since then have been actively working to find a facility in the city. I’m pleased to confirm that after considering a number of venues and consulting with users of St Georges, a four-week trial for the hydrotherapy pool at Lime Academy Trust will get underway from Monday 31 October. We are committed to helping hydrotherapy users in Peterborough to find a facility. I'm pleased that the trial can now get under way and we will review its progress before making any further decisions.

The hydrotherapy pool is based at Lime Academy Trust, Orton Clayton Campus, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, PE2 5SD and there is ample free parking on site. The facility is 10m x 4m and has a jacuzzi area, heated at 36 degrees. Sessions are Monday - Thursday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm and Saturdays 9am to 3pm. Sessions cost £12 per person and can be booked via the council’s service desk phone number 01733 747474 and selecting option 5. Lines are open from 9am until 12noon

As part of my ambition for the council to be even more open and transparent with our residents, last year I started a monthly session called ‘Ask the Leader’. It’s an informal online meeting, giving residents a chance to put questions to myself and council officers on any issues that affect their daily lives.

We held the latest session on Tuesday evening and once again it was another insightful event, featuring questions on the Towns Fund bid for the Station Quarter, public toilets in the city centre and Peterborough United’s football stadium.You can watch it back on our Youtube channel and if you’d like to take part in the next session on Tuesday 22 November please get in touch. You can submit questions to [email protected] and we will respond with details and a link to the meeting.

Finally, a reminder that the council, in conjunction with the Peterborough Branch of the Royal British Legion will be commemorating both Armistice Two Minute Silence and Remembrance Sunday Silence and Wreath Laying at the War Memorial in Bridge Street.The Armistice Two Minute Silence service will commence from 10.40am on Friday 11 November and Remembrance Sunday at 10.45am on 13th November.You can join the procession at the War Memorial or watch the event on a large screen in Cathedral Square. If you can’t make it along, the silence and wreath laying service will also be streamed on our Youtube account.