A Peterborough councillor said he was “gobsmacked” that the front entrance lift at the city’s Town Hall remained out of order despite the issue being raised more than a year ago.

In July 2025, Werrington councillor John Fox criticised Peterborough City Council for the lack of disabled access at the front of the Town Hall on Bridge Street and asked the authority to carry out urgent repairs on the lift.

Cllr Mohammed Jamil, cabinet member for finance, assured that the issue would be “rectified as soon as possible”.

On October 13 last year, Peterborough City Council confirmed that a new lift had been ordered but it was being made per the specifications of the space, so there would be a wait for it to be manufactured.

placeholder image — Peterborough Town Hall

The install date was expected to be in November or December last year but, come August 2026, there is still no lift at the front of the Town Hall.

Cllr Jamil said that works were “progressing” to replace the lift, but gave no indication as to when this would happen.

“In the meantime, the lift at the rear of the Town Hall is available for access. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” he added.

Cllr Fox told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was “gobsmacked” that the lift still hadn’t been fixed.

“It should have been fixed a long time ago,” he said.

“For me, it is a priority. But it doesn’t seem to be for others. Town hall’s should have full accessibility for anybody, disabled people especially.

“Yet here we are over a year later, still waiting. It just seems a bit odd.”

The front entrance lift is not the only thing in need of repair at the Town Hall.

Mitigation work, expected to cost £900,000, was authorised by cabinet members in July last year after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found in the building.

The first phase of these RAAC repairs have been completed and the council is now looking to carry out targeted remediation works.