Peterborough’s £65 million Station Quarter regeneration plans are on track and on schedule despite the complexities of the project, a leading councillor has stated.

The start of construction work, which will be the creation of the City Link pedestrian and cycle route from Peterborough Train Station to the Cowgate entrance of the city centre, is set to start before the end of this financial year.

The vote of confidence in the timetable for the largely government funded project comes from Councillor Mohammed Farooq, the cabinet member for growth and regeneration at Peterborough City Council.

He said: "The Station Quarter redevelopment is a huge and complex project, using significant investment from the Government.

This image shows how the Station Quarter regeneration might appear once completed with the new City Link access in the top left corner. Inset, Cllr Mohammed Farooq, Peterborough City Council's Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration.

placeholder image — This image shows how the Station Quarter regeneration might appear once completed with the new City Link access in the top left corner. Inset, Cllr Mohammed Farooq, Peterborough City Council's Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration.

"We are following a very detailed programme of works prior to being able to break ground on site and for there to be the visible presence of construction vehicles.

He said: "We remain very much on schedule, which is for construction works to begin by the end of the financial year in March.”

The council yesterday announced the start of public consultation to axe 35 trees and replace them with more than 50 tree and shrubs along the route of the City Link.

Cllr Farooq said: “Works to clear vegetation in the Queensgate roundabout took place in November which allowed for further survey and design work to be undertaken, which is ongoing.

"We have launched a public consultation relating to the removal of trees, which must be completed before major construction works can commence.

“There will be a 28 day consultation period, after which we will review the comments received and decide which trees we remove.”

He added: “In the next few weeks we intend to enter into contract with M Group for the remainder of the City Link works.

IN PICTURES: New images show how Peterborough's £65 million Station Quarter will...

“We are now finalising contracts with Network Rail and LNER to facilitate the works and to allow M Group to set up its construction compound in the rail station car park. "In the background the surveys, design work and cost planning will be continuing, so that site set up and main works can start on site before the end of the financial year.

"We understand that people want to see diggers on site as soon as possible - as do we as we know the transformative impact this scheme will have on our city - but given the scale of the project and the financial investment it is absolutely critical that we do not rush and that we get it right."

The Station Quarter project was allocated £47.8 million by the Government in October 2023 through its Levelling Up funds to improve the station and surrounding areas. The remainder of the funding is expected to come from private investors.

Designs for the Station Quarter have been put together by Ove Arup, which is the company selected by the project partners – Peterborough City Council, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, train operator LNER, and Network Rail - to draw up a masterplan and business case for the Station Quarter.

The City Link works will be funded by £1.5 million from the Peterborough Towns Fund.