New hope for multi-million The Vine culture and community centre in Peterborough

One of Peterborough’s most exciting Towns Fund development projects is expected to make significant progress in the next few weeks.

The Vine cultural and community hub, which secured £13 million of government monies under the Towns Fund initiative, has been dogged by uncertainty for more than a year.

Now Peterborough City Council says it is close to finalising the purchase of the derelict grade II listed Victorian rail shed at Fletton Quays, which is to become one half of The Vine cultural hub.

The building, which is the last unused plot at Fletton Quays, is earmarked as a food and beverages hub which will allow groups of friends, family members and colleagues to meet in stylish surroundings and cater for all food tastes at the same time.

It envisages pop-up fast food style restaurants and bars surrounding a communal dining area.

The rest of The Vine project, which could include business space for start-ups businesses in digital, creative and design sectors, meeting rooms and rehearsal studios, a learning resource centre and gallery space for artists, will be located at Central Library in Broadway.

Details of the pending purchase are contained in recently released minutes of the last Peterborough Towns Fund board meeting held in November.

The minutes state that purchase of the rail shed site, owned by the Peterborough Investment Partnership (PIP), a joint venture between Peterborough City Council and Peterborough Partnership, was to have been completed by Christmas.

But a council spokesperson said the purchase was now expected early this year.

However, the minutes also state: “The Fletton Quays site needs a lot of work on it.

"Lots of assessments and surveys are being done on building at the moment.

"Tenders to be sought to design, refurbish and operate the building.”

The minutes add that The Vine ‘will now be delivered across two sites from April 2026.

“The Central Library will have the majority of uses with the second building, the site on Fletton Quays delivering the Food and Beverage use.”

The original vision for The Vine was that it should be entirely located within the former TK Maxx and New Look store in Bridge Street.

A trial miniature version of The Vine was run in part of the building in 2021 but closed because of heating issues.

Months later, former council leader Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald announced the former TK Maxx and New Look store was to be sold to a developer who wanted to turn it into a conferencing and banqueting centre with apartments and a rooftop restaurant.

The council had bought the building in 2020 with the use of Government money provided through the Towns Fund when it had originally planned to base The Vine in the empty retail buildings.

It is expected that once the building’s sale is completed the money will go back into the Towns Fund pot and be shared between the eight Towns Fund projects.

The raid shed site at Fletton Quays had been earmarked for a whisky and gin distillery more than three years ago, was put up for sale in March 2021 but was later removed from the market.