Criticism for Peterborough City Council as it gets set to remove 'eyesore' fencing from historic Guildhall

Council chiefs say the fencing, which was put up after vandals tried to set fire to the first floor front door last Christmas, will be taken down during a clean up of the building.

But they say there is no timescale yet for installing metal gates to protect the entrance to the building.

Now the local authority has been criticised for removing the fencing before the new gates are ready to install.

While critics had branded the fencing an ‘eyesore’ they had wanted to work with the council to put up a more attractive screening until work to protect the building could take place.

Paul Bristow. Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, said: “If the council is taking the fence down but without any plans to install the gates, what on earth was the point of the fence in the first place?

"All they seem to have done is upset everyone and make what should be a key attraction in our city centre look absolutely terrible.

"They need to get a grip, come up with a plan and tell local businesses what it is.”

The council says removing the fencing will be part of works to clean up the Grade II listed building that overlooks Cathedral Square.

Metal gates to enclose the first floor door are expected to be installed at some point.

The start of work follows criticism that the battered looking fencing was an unacceptable eyesore in the middle of the city centre and was a symbol of the centre’s decline over two years.

A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “The fence will be removed this Friday.

"The building’s lower stonework has already been cleaned.

"And engineers are on site this week, before the fence is removed, to clean and enable the final measurements to be taken, this is required before the fabrication of the gates can take place.”

But the spokesperson said that the date for the installation of the gates had not been agreed and would depend on the time taken for their manufacture.

The cost of making and installing the gates is not known yet.

Pep Cipriano, chief operating officer of Peterborough Positive, which operates the city’s Business Improvement District, said: “It is great news the fencing is coming down.

"It is nice to get the full beauty of our Guildhall back and that the area can be used for events including the Italian festival this weekend.

"It is good news that progress is being made with the gates.”

Mr Cipriano has previously described the fencing as an ‘eyesore’.

He said the council should let him work with others to create a more attractive screen to surround the Guildhall entrance.

Paul Stainton, a member of Peterborough’s tourism economy group, said: “It is now time to bring our beautiful Guildhall back to life and turn it into a footfall driver for the city centre, a performance space – anything that we can be proud of and that will attract visitors to the heart of our city.

"It could and should be the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle of regeneration that our city centre urgently requires.”