Peterborough City Council 'did not spot' Conservative Party logo on oversized cheque celebrating £48m Station Quarter fund

The council tweeted then deleted a video of its leader, Wayne Fitzgerald, and local MP Paul Bristow holding a novelty cheque for £48m sporting the Conservative Party logo
MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow and Council leader Wayne Fitzgerald with the Peterborough Station quarter regeneration cheque from the GovernmentMP for Peterborough Paul Bristow and Council leader Wayne Fitzgerald with the Peterborough Station quarter regeneration cheque from the Government
MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow and Council leader Wayne Fitzgerald with the Peterborough Station quarter regeneration cheque from the Government

Peterborough City Council (PCC) “did not spot” the Conservative Party’s logo on a novelty cheque celebrating a multi-million pound grant to regenerate the city’s railway station, a spokesperson has said.

PCC’s Twitter account tweeted a video of council leader Wayne Fitzgerald and Peterborough MP Paul Bristow holding the oversized cheque as they discussed the “really, really exciting” news that the £48 million grant had been approved by Government.

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But the account (@PeterboroughCC) later deleted the video, saying that in their own “excitement” to publicise the news they failed to spot the reference to the Conservative Party.

A spokesperson added that the council accepts that this “did not accurately reflect that the money has come from the Government's Levelling Up fund”.

The bid for the money was put together by the council and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), before being approved earlier this week.

It will be spent on transforming the city’s Station Quarter, although further funding as well as planning permission must be sought before the project gets underway.

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In the video featuring the cheque, Cllr Fitzgerald can be heard saying: “I’ve come here today to Peterborough railway station because today we had some really, really exciting news that came our way.

“And with me is the very man that made it happen, Paul Bristow MP.”

Later in the video, Cllr Fitzgerald acknowledges that the bid, which was signed off by the MP, was also thanks to the work of local councillors and the CPCA.

He said: “Thanks to you, thanks to the city council staff and also those at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

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“It really, really is a great big deal for the city today and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

But several Twitter users objected to what they saw as the implication that the money had been supplied by the Conservative Party.

PCC says reference to it on the cheque will be removed when the video is reposted.

A spokesperson said: “In our excitement to get the news out we did not spot that the cheque in the video, which was provided by the city's MP, included the Conservative Party name and logo.

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“We accept that this reference did not accurately reflect that the money has come from the Government's Levelling Up fund.

“We have removed the video from our social media channels and will be reposting it shortly with the name and logo blurred.”

Station Quarter regeneration plans include a new western entrance for Peterborough station and car park as well as a new footbridge..

If approved, work could begin in the plans as soon as next year.

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But it would take at least five years before the wider development of the Station Quarter is complete.

Mr Bristow said that the redevelopment would be a “gamechanger” for Peterborough.

In the video, he said: “This is a game changer for Peterborough because Peterborough is not only a great city but it’s also the gateway to the East of England.”