Opinion: We're rising to the big challenges

It’s a big challenge, but one we are rising to - this year has seen the opening of our new University ARU Peterborough, along with continued development of Fletton Quays and its government hub. With the re-vamp of Northminster and ambitious plans for the Station Quarter progressing, we are delivering on our promise to make the city an even better place to live, work and play.In the past week two more impressive projects have been given the green light by government as part of the Towns Fund initiative.Plans for a new Activity Centre and Green Technology Centre received positive feedback from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) – with £3.5million now on its way to help fund them.The Activity Centre will create a state-of-the-art, Olympic standard climbing facility at Ferry Meadows. The site will feature one of the country’s largest climbing arenas, a nature-themed toddler arena, café and spaces for community groups. It will also create 31 permanent new jobs.Planning permission was secured in March 2021 and spades are already in the ground to construct the car park for the centre. Construction on the main building is expected to start next year.The Green Technology Centre will be based at Peterborough College and deliver an innovative curriculum to get students ready for careers in green technologies, such as sustainable construction. Again, construction begins next year.This is just £3.5million of a potential £22.9million pot of money that is available for Peterborough through the Towns Fund. It’s in addition to £28million that will be coming through the Levelling Up Fund for the ARU Peterborough Living Lab and Cultural Quarter Hub and a potential £48million for the redevelopment of our Station Quarter.As I often say, Peterborough’s time is now, and the Towns Fund is just one way that we are working to enhance our historic city.

On Monday we issued an update on our financial position in keeping with our promise to be transparent with people about the challenge that we face and how we are working to address it.Based on forecasting by our finance team, the predicted gap in our Medium-Term Financial Strategy in 2023/24 is now £21.7million - up from the £9.5million prediction in July.There are several reasons for this including unprecedented levels of inflation and a nationally agreed pay award for staff which will create an additional pressure.The important thing is that this has not taken us by surprise. We have been planning for it and developing strategies to meet the very steep challenge.Our chief executive and senior leadership team is working closely with cabinet and all members to identify ways that we can make savings by reviewing all our contracts to make sure they’re providing value for money, reviewing the need for all our assets and making sure we only keep those we can afford and looking at how we can transform services to deliver them more efficiently.It’s a huge challenge, but it’s one I know we can meet.Next week we will be launching a budget game where we’ll be asking you to have a go at balancing our budget by telling us where you think we should be investing and saving money. It might not be as easy as you think! I’ll be able to tell you more about this next week.

This weekend sees one of Peterborough’s most popular events return after a four-year gap, with thousands of runners taking part in the Great Eastern Run this Sunday.Whether you’re running or coming along to watch it’s always a fantastic uplifting occasion, bringing people to Peterborough from near and far and generating a great atmosphere.The organiser of this year’s race, Good Running Events, is still looking for people to volunteer on the day, particularly as course marshals.If you can spare a few hours of your time then this is a really rewarding experience, cheering on runners, and helping the event go smoothly.To find out more and register as a volunteer, visit https://www.greateastern.run/

Finally, just a reminder that the next Ask the Leader session takes place on Tuesday 25 October.There’s still time to get your questions in about any local issue you would like to discuss.Submit your questions to [email protected] by Wednesday 19 October.