City Council to sell Peterborough’s Cresset for £1

Speaking to members of the council’s Joint Meeting of the Scrutiny Committees at their online meeting (22 February), Cllr Nick Sandford, said: “I see that on the disposal schedule for the city council there is mention that The Cresset is to be put up for sale.

“This is the first time that I’ve heard of this, so can somebody please explain to me what will be the implications for all the community facilities that are provided by The Cresset, and how will its’ sale benefit the council?”

Cllr David Seaton replied: “The Cresset is under a 999-year lease with the YMCA Trinity Group.

“We’ve been working towards an agreement to pass it over to them on a permanent basis for quite some time.

“Therefore, it’s a technical formality that it must appear on the disposals list for the city council; but yes, you are correct, we are selling The Cresset for a nominal fee of £1.”

The unique concept for The Cresset – a community hub at the heart of Bretton – was devised in the 1970s by Sir Harold Haywood, developed and built by multiple organisations, including Peterborough City Council, Peterborough Development Corporation, Cambridgeshire County Council; it was officially opened by HM The Queen on 22 March 1978.

The Cresset is completely self-funding but in 2014, it merged with YMCA Trinity Group securing the future of the building and organisation.