Mark Fishpool, who founded Pride In Our Community Volunteer Group Peterborough, has been responsible for tidying and restoring the former glories of many areas of the city.
He has now turned his attention to the triangle area of New England, which sits between Bourges Boulevard and Lincoln Road. The area includes an area of grass, the striking Cannon Fountain, which is over 140 years old and well as a historic and now boarded up building, which used to be a covered seating area.
Mark has called for action to transform the area, however, insisting that it has been ‘neglected’ over the years.
At a recent walkaround the area, the PT observed significant damage to the steps at the base of the fountain, so much so that it has been fenced off. The fountain was hit by a car over a year ago but has still yet to be repaired. Buckled and missing fence panels are also still evident from the crash as well as a damaged and exposed fuse box.
Other parts of the railing around the grass area are also missing and in serious need of repainting. Many years ago, there was seating provided in the area but this has long since been removed.
The former covered seating area is present but is boarded up, showing serious signs of neglect and dirt. Paintwork needs redoing and the clock at the top no longer works.
In a call for action, Mark said: “I have photographs of this area from a decade or two ago and it looked lovely but it has been neglected. The buildings have not been looked after and the problem is, the longer they are left the more risk that when something is done, the decision gets made to demolish them. We don’t want that, we would be losing a lot of historic structures.
“There used to be lovely Victorian cast iron benches all around here but where have they gone? Over the years, I have noticed lots of street furniture disappearing and we need to stop this.
"We see lots of new projects going on in the city but the council should not forget about the housework and looking after what’s already here.
"Some of the stuff in New England could have been repaired a long time ago. There are volunteers I know the council could bring in to help out.
"Leaving areas like this send the wrong message. People think, well if the council don’t care then why should we care.”
