Private investors to be urged to invest £600 million in transformation of Peterborough

Ambitious plans to overhaul the heart of the city will be showcased next month at a virtual conference for investors.

Civic leaders hope constructors, financial companies and other businesses and local stakeholders will be inspired to chip in to turn the much heralded vision into a reality.

The focus of the online conference will be the potential transformation of eight key investment sites to provide a range of high quality residential and commercial property as well as space for new cultural and retail attractions and improvements to the public realm.

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow. EMN-200721-155726001

The sites are the Station Quarter, North Westgate, Northminster, Rivergate, University, Embankment, Middlehome and Fletton Quays.

A masterplan to guide the development of the sites was unveiled at the start of the year but the coronavirus outbreak dashed hopes of staging a face-to-face conference with investors in the spring.

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A spokesperson said: “As plans progress for these sites, Peterborough City Council will look to secure a total of £600 million capital investment from the private sector to bring these sites to fruition.”

The online conference, to be hosted jointly by economic development company Opportunity Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, will take place on October 9 from 10 to noon via Zoom.

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Among the key speakers will be James Palmer, the mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and Peterborough MP Paul Bristow.

The conference will also cover the proposals in the city’s Towns Fund bid just submitted to the Government. Peterborough is one of 101 towns that can bid for up to £25 million towards transport, infrastructure, connectivity, skills and enterprise projects.

Councillor Peter Hiller, the council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Commercial Strategy and Investments, said: “Our plans for Peterborough are truly transformative.

“They have had to be adapted to address challenges emerging from Covid-19 but we’re certainly not letting that stop us from being ambitious about the city’s future.

“We want to give local businesses, developers, investors, and stakeholders the opportunity to hear how the council, along with public and private sector partners, plans to transform the city, and to let them know how they can become involved.”

To register for the conference, email: [email protected]

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