Meet Peterborough's new councillors who say speeding, anti-social behaviour and creating new opportunities are among their top priorities

After last week’s local elections, seven new councillors joined Peterborough City Council (PCC).

Labour has four new councillors, including three who gained their seats from others: Cllr Richard Strangward (Bretton) defeated Chris Burbage (Conservative), Cllr Nick Thulbourn (Fletton & Woodston) defeated Imtiaz Ali (Greens) and Cllr Asim Mahmood (North) defeated Ansar Ali (Independent).

Meanwhile, Katy Cole (Dogsthorpe) took over from former Labour councillor Katia Yurgutene, who didn’t run again.

The party now has 14 councillors at PCC, led by Cllr Dennis Jones (Dogsthorpe), making it the second largest overall.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives strengthened their control of the council, gaining two new councillors in Park ward – Cllr Arfan Khan and Cllr Muhammad Asif – which was previously held by former Labour leader Shaz Nawaz and Labour councillor Ikra Yasin.

Cllr Raja Sabeel Ahmed (Ravensthorpe) has also joined their number, winning in a seat previously held by Labour councillor Lucinda Robinson – who didn’t run again.

The Conservatives now have 30 seats – just one off the 31 needed to form a majority – up from 28 prior to the election and are led by Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (West).

New Conservative councillor Raja Sabeel Ahmed said that “speeding, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour” are the main issues in his ward he will seek to tackle.

He’s also looking forward to what he believes will be a “great experience” working alongside his fellow Conservative councillors – including his father, Cllr Gul Nawaz (Ravensthorpe).

“I’m my father’s backbone, working alongside him, and I’ve got full knowledge of all the issues in my area,” he said. “I’ve been working in the local community for the last 20 years.”

Cllr Ahmed is also optimistic about the future, despite the Conservatives losing more than 1,000 seats in the local elections.

“Looking at the national opinion polls, they weren’t in our favour. Despite that, we gained seats in Peterborough and it was a big achievement," he said.

“Peterborough is different; we’re different here,” Cllr Thulbourn said, reflecting on the election results which bucked national trends.

Cllr Thulbourn, who was also previously a PCC councillor between 2012–16, says that “making sure we take advantage of opportunities”, whether they be in technology or adult education, is his biggest priority now he’s re-joined the council.

“I want to create readiness for the future; 90 per cent of the reason I’ve gotten involved again is that Peterborough missed out 20 odd years ago,” he said.

“We’ve got an opportunity coming up and we need to take it. There’s a change of government coming, there’s a change of direction and there’s a whole raft of opportunities that are being missed at the moment so I’m really about making sure we get a grip of them.”

Cllr Mahmood, meanwhile, wants “more transparent enforcement” when it comes to fly-tipping in North ward, as well as an increase in investment and a decrease in anti-social behaviour.

“I witnessed first-hand someone someone being arrested while we were on our campaign trail,” he said, adding that he believes that the issue is worsened by the number of alcohol and gambling licences granted in the area.

Cllr Mahmood will also push the implementation of the Millfield regeneration project, he said, and wants a timeline on the relocation of Stagecoach’s bus depot just outside his ward.

Unlike his new Labour colleague Cllr Thulbourn, he hasn’t served on PCC before but has been involved with the local party for around seven years, he said, and was previously president of the students’ union at Peterborough Regional College.

Professionally, he works as a construction manager, while Cllr Thulbourn says he runs a business in Woodston, is involved with several charities and is a new grandfather.

PCC’s other new councillors have also been contacted for comment.