Peterborough Beer Festival says 'we are not going anywhere yet' after Embankment masterplan revealed
Last orders are not being called on Peterborough Beer Festival – after the Masterplan for the Embankment was revealed by Peterborough City Council.
With proposals for a new leisure centre and youth zone to be built on the Embankment, and construction of the new Cygnet Bridge already underway, concerns had been raised about the future of such events on what was described as ‘The Green Lung of the city.’
The riverside space has been home of the Beer Festival for decades, and the annual event is one of the biggest of its type in the country, with people travelling long distances to enjoy a pint or three.
The plan includes a large ‘events space’ – big enough for the Beer Festival and other attractions, such as the annual circus or fair.
After The Peterborough Telegraph revealed the new masterplan, organisers from Peterborough Beer Festival said ‘we are not going anywhere.’
In a post on social media, they circled the event space on the plans in red, and said: “We know there's a lot of talk at the moment about the proposed building works for several things on the Embankment, and we are as concerned about it as everyone is. Without the Embankment to host it, there would be no Peterborough Beer Festival.
“So it is reassuring to see this graphic that details where the new leisure centre and the new youth club will be.
“The red ring is where we currently fence off for the beer festival each year, so the only restrictions are the new path that goes across the land, which we hope we'd be able to incorporate into our site as we grow and use more of the space available.
“The proposed Youth Zone is where we normally have our volunteer car park though, so there may be some issues there while changes happen and settle.
“But overall, it does look like we're not going anywhere yet!”
During the cabinet meeting, leader of the council Shabina Qayyum said: ““We have organisations like 'Save the Embankment' who quite rightly talk about the Embankment being the green lung of the city. I hope that it can be acknowledged that we are talking about sensitive development, that leads to a thriving, bustling Embankment area, that is in use throughout the year.
“We can see there is significant space for all the other events that we have throughout the year - we have the Beer Festival, the circus that comes, and so many other recreational activities.
“We do know there has been talk about putting a great big arena, football arena on the embankment - that for us is a no no.”
This year’s Peterborough Beer Festival will be the 47th to have taken place, and will be running from August 25 until August 29.
For more information, visit https://pborobeerfest.camra.org.uk/