'We've got a centre that offers nothing'- Regeneration plea for Werrington Centre in wake of gutting of Peterborough pub

A passionate plea has been made to rejuvenate Werrington Centre in Peterborough for the good of its residents.

The former Landlord of the Ploughman pub, Andy Simmonds, has expressed serious concerns about the future of the centre in the wake of the pub’s closure as well as the imminent closure of its doctors surgery.

The Ploughman closed its doors at the beginning of 2024 following a legal battle with owners Melbourne Leisure Holdings.

The building has since been sold and gutted ahead of being converted into a row of shops.

As well as losing the community pub, the centre is set to lose its doctors surgery in March.

The former Ploughman landlord has previously spoken to the Peterborough Telegraph about his ‘heartbreak’ at the loss of the pub and now says that he fears for the future of the centre and that is is being left behind by far more successful local centres such as Orton and Bretton.

Mr Simmonds has previously been part of a campaign to call for action in Werrington Centre, accusing its owners of leaving it to ‘rot.’

He said: “There is nothing there appealing to make people come there to shop. We’ve got a centre that offers nothing and gives nothing to the people.

"All of the infrastructure of the pub has been ripped out without any consultation to the public. It’s just removed another service from the centre and made it less viable. Who is going to want to visit a centre that is nothing but charity shops. People are just going to go to Tesco, walk in and walk out.

“Part of the car park has been given over to a click and collect service for Tesco, this reducing car parking availability and my biggest fear, is that an ANRP system could be put in. That, coupled with the development of the school, where are people going to park?

“The current car park also has many potholes, has kerb stones missing and is poorly lit and even if we talk about public transport, the bus station turning circle is in a frightful state of disrepair.

“More needs to be done about the drug and anti-social behaviour problem in the centre. With the death of the pub, the issues are only going to get worse. When Tesco shuts on Sunday at 4pm, there will be nobody in Werrington Centre until possibly 8am the following Monday morning, that’s a long time.

“There are centres such as Orton that are excelling with what they can offer and which retailers are going in there. You’ve got Bretton as well, there are large companies willing to invest and move into them.”