Westminster Life: Should Peterborough have a market?
One of the gems of the city is the return of a market in Cathedral Square which has grown steadily thanks to labour of love of volunteers writes Andrew Pakes MP
A city our size should have a regular market at its heart. We are now getting that thanks to a more regular events in the square on many Thursdays and Saturdays. The driving force behind this is Yolanda from Secret Seamstress Events. From a one-day market organised for the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022 over the last four years the market has developed from running small events to hosting regular markets in the square where people can come together, support local businesses, and feel part of a community.
It started with just one market a month, then moved to twice a month the following year, and now they are working towards running markets every Saturday. Reinventing the market is part of reinventing the city centre. Too often Peterborough has been plagued by short-term bad decisions like shutting the old market without a plan for a new one. This was brought to you by the same city leaders who invested public money in the failed Hilton Hotel, closed the Regional Pool (again with no plan for a new one), and paid through the nose for the Woolies building only then to say it wasn’t fit for purpose.
There are lots of stories about where Peterborough has gone wrong, but there are more stories about where we are getting it right. Of course we should have a market in the city centre. And I am delighted we now have a city leadership, businesses and community groups working together. Now, we won’t disprove the keyboard warriors overnight, but we are turning a corner. Last week, I took part in one of my regular business surgeries with Pep and the team at Peterborough Positive. I heard about challenges facing traders but also positives, not least the great work of Peterborough Positive.
Last summer, we had a record-breaking summer at Peterborough Lido, and a new season due to open on Saturday for an extended period as part of its 90th anniversary. We also had a record-breaking Dr Who exhibition at Peterborough Museum, although that may lose its record to Diesel Streets which has had over 7,000 visitors already.
Pride in place matters. That is why I helped to secure £1.5 million in investment to improve the city centre, alongside the £40 million Pride in Place funding for the Ortons and Paston, Gunthorpe and Dogsthorpe. This week, we announced Jonathan Jelley as the independent chair of the Paston board and we will start advertising for a neighbourhood board to steer this funding over the coming weeks. £1.5 million won’t change everything for the city centre, but it is a reversal of Conservative austerity which did so much damage to our public infrastructure. Now we have a better deal from the government which means we can keep libraries open, build a new pool and invest in our public spaces. We will be highlighting plans for the city centre in the coming days. So, yes, we need a market, and together we can make it better than ever.