Council leader says needs of Peterborough people must come before creation of Hilton Garden Inn

The pledge comes from Peterborough City Council leader Councillor Shabina Qayyum just days after it was announced that the partly built Hilton Garden Inn at Felton Quays is to be sold to the highest bidder,

Defending the move to sell the uncompleted nine- storey building, which was funded by a £15 million loan from the council to the developer in in 2017, Cllr Qayyum, who was not a member of the council when the decision to lend the £15 million was made, said: “Of course having a brand like Hilton on the the skyline of the city is an incredibly attractive proposal.

"This is an administration which is now broader, represents a range of political views, and one where we have reset the dial on collaborative and inclusive working relationships and where we represent the views of the majority of people in the city, and we want to look after their pounds, we want to look after their investments.

"While we hope the building remains as the Hilton, whoever we sell it off to we do feel that prioritising the needs of the people of this city comes first before any vanity projects.

"I think we have been very decisive on that so I will not criticise our decision to sell the building.”

Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said: “Making the decision to sell the building is a really unenviable choice for the council.

"The current administration has been saddled with a white elephant in terms of the project.

“Put simply, councils should not be investing in hotels.

He said: “Back in 2017 when this was originally done the council was under huge pressure for its budgets, so it was absolutely crazy the council invested in a hotel which would be bought by the private sector.

Mr Pakes added: “The challenge now is to get as much money back as possible for the tax payer and I know that is finely balanced but the council now has come to the right decision which is to sell It on and make as much back as much money as possible for the public.”

Cllr Mohammed Farooq, the council’s cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said: “Let know hide behind the fact of Covid as a reason for this situation.

"No council should be lending money to the private sector for private enterprises.

“There are banks to do that and which can carry out the proper due diligence that would ensure that developer was robust enough to survive Covid.

He said: “Most organisations survived Covid and have carried on operating.

"So this situation is clearly of a case of weak developer and a weak decision by the council.”