Councillor calls for action after 'distressing and disgusting' discovery in Peterborough's Lynch Wood business park

A Peterborough city councillor has called for action after making a ‘horrifying’ discovery at a city business park.

Orton Waterville councillor Julie Stevenson said she the scene at the Lynch Wood Business Park was ‘the most disgusting sight she had ever seen’ after finding piles of drinks cans and other litter, as well as graffiti scrawled on walls.

Cllr Stevenson said: “Last year, local people were extremely disappointed to learn that the former YBS building would be turned into flats under ‘permitted development’ rules, which meant local people had no say whatsoever.

“Since the permission was granted, what was once a very pleasant area became a building site. While this is unavoidable, what is absolutely not okay is what has happened in the parts of the site that the developer has not fenced off.

“I visited today after a tip-off from a resident and found the most disgusting scene I think I’ve ever witnessed.

“Not only is the site overgrown with weeds, it is clear that it is being used as a drinking den and being heavily vandalised. As well as hundreds of discarded cans and bottles, much of the brickwork has been covered in graffiti as has the nearby bus stop (and the windows there have also been smashed).

“This is absolutely unacceptable.”

The business park was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, and cllr Stevenson said: “I am distressed and disgusted that a lovely area that was opened by the late Queen Elizabeth II has been degraded in this way with no one willing to take responsibility.”

A spokesperson for MJS Projects, who are working at the development, said they would be attending the site this week to clear rubbish away.

Planning permission for 96 flats in the former YBS building was granted in 2020, shortly after the office block was closed.There were a number of objections to the plans, with cllr Stevenson saying at the time: “Lynch Wood has always been a business park, and there are concerns about what the development could mean in terms of both traffic and local character.”