Peterborough tourism group aims to breathe new life into city centre

Action is being taken to transform the centre of Peterborough in a bid to encourage many more visitors to the city.

A Peterborough Tourism Collective has been created representing leading organisations to look at ways of making the city a more attractive destination for residents, businesses and visitors.

The group held its second meeting at The Cresset where members considered a raft of possible ideas led by Dave Cramp, the Visitor Economy Manager for Peterborough City Council.

Afterwards, Paul Stainton, marketing and communications director for Peterborough Cathedral, said: “Peterborough Cathedral is proud to be part of the Peterborough Tourism Collective, helping to improve the city visitor economy of the city.

"It’s inspiring to see everyone involved, from politicians to hoteliers, working to change perceptions and make a real difference in the promotion of Peterborough.

Cllr Peter Hiller, the council’s cabinet member for housing, growth and regeneration, said: “A number of ideas are being considered such as making better use of the historic Guildhall, which stands moribund year after year, cleaning and brightening up Cathedral Square and introducing more foliage.”

He said that a questionnaire to find out the public’s thoughts about what a regenerated city centre should look like had generated more than 1,000 responses.

A council spokesperson said: “The ideas so far are all part of our plans for the city centre which the recent survey was to inform, and we will be able to say more about that after the local elections on May 2.

“The responses to the survey are now being collated and next steps will be published in due course.”