Opinion: Standing up to challenges and continuing to help those in need

In my final column of last year and on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire this week, I looked ahead to some of the many opportunities in store for our city over the next 12 months.

We are going to see continued growth here in Peterborough, in terms of housing, jobs and commerce with several exciting projects in the pipeline. We’re one of the UK’s fastest growing cities and we’re going to continue to make Peterborough an even better place to live, work and play.

At the same time, we still face severe challenges with the rising costs of living a major concern for many. I’m extremely proud of the work we have done to support those most in need and I want to assure everyone that we will continue to do all we can to help.

Since launching our Household Support Fund (HSF) in November 2021, we’ve helped over 16,300 people who are struggling, issuing over £1.1 million in vouchers and a further £159K in non-voucher help.

We’ve also used the HSF money to set up 20 winter support hubs in Peterborough, providing people with everyday essentials, energy and warmth related essentials.

We’ve helped families of school pupils by providing free school meal vouchers during school holidays – almost 14,000 vouchers were issued during the Christmas break.

Staff from our LEAP scheme, which is a free fuel poverty outreach service, made 590 home visits in the past 12 months helping to save some 1,667 tons of carbon.

We are all affected by the rising cost of living, but for some people the impact upon their lives is huge and they may not be able to afford household bills or buy food. These are the people we want to be able to help.

If you are struggling to make ends meet, please get in touch. These are tough times and there is no shame in asking for help.

If you would like to find out more about the support schemes we have in place, visit the council’s website – www.peterborough.gov.uk

The first week of January is traditionally a time for taking down the Christmas decorations, something that most of us dislike doing.

For those of you with real Christmas trees, don’t forget that you can get these recycled locally. There will be large skips at Notcutts and Dobbies garden centres up until Tuesday 10 January - please check your local store's opening hours before making the trip.

On the subject of recycling, I would once again like to remind people of the importance of recycling and getting into the habit of doing this regularly.

Every 1% increase in recycling achieves a £66k benefit to the council – money that can be used to provide services. We are fully committed to improving recycling rates in Peterborough and that’s why we are proposing as part of next year’s budget to invest in dedicated education and engagement officers. If approved, they will work directly with our communities to raise awareness about the many benefits of recycling.

One of my highlights of 2022 was seeing people come together for activities and events for the first time since Covid.

We had some brilliant events last year, with concerts on the Embankment and the return of the Peterborough Beer Festival and the good news is that more exciting events are in the pipeline for 2023.

Next month sees Peterborough Cathedral host the ‘Made in 2022’ art exhibition which takes place from February 8 until March 2. The exhibition will feature a range of artwork reflecting the past 12 months and follows on from the success of the ‘Made in Lockdown’ exhibition which was held in 2022. Find out more at www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk

You can take a trip back in time to 1985 at a fascinating photography exhibition at Peterborough Museum. Launching on January 21 the venue is hosting ‘New Town Youth 1985’ showcasing the challenges, hopes and aspiration of diverse youth groups growing up in Peterborough in 1985.

Last year also saw the Great Eastern Run return to Peterborough for the first time since 2018 and I’m delighted that the event is returning for 2023. If your New Year’s resolution is to get fit, why not consider entering the event which takes place on Sunday 15 October? You can sign up at www.greatestern.run

The past year also saw the opening of our new University, ARU Peterborough, which will play a major part in our city’s future growth.

On Saturday 14 January ARU Peterborough is hosting an open day for anyone considering applying for undergraduate courses that start from September 2023.

If you are interested in further education or have children considering which universities to apply for in the new year, then come and take a look around the state-of-the-art campus which is based in Bishops Road. You can book a place at the open day by visiting www.aru.ac.uk