Plans for new activity centre 'on hold' at Peterborough's Ferry Meadows but hopes remain for 2027 start date

There has been mixed news for the hopes of the Nene Park Trust of getting the project off the ground in recent weeks.

Peterborough City Council has granted planning permission for the 22-metre high Lakeside Activity Centre that will offer bouldering activities for all ages and levels as well as roped climbing, a small café, toddler play area and gym.

The project has however, been hit by a cut in funding, which has forced it ‘on hold.’

Earlier this month, the city council's cabinet passed a decision which removed a total of £1,073,280 of government money that the project that the Peterborough Towns Fund board has originally planned to allocate to the project.

The decision came as a blow to the trust which has been left to work out new ways to find funds to complete the project but hopes remain that alternative funding sources can be found and the project can start construction next year.

Following original planning permission for an activity centre at Ferry Meadows five years ago, the trust submitted revised plans earlier this year for a simpler, more cost-effective building to deliver indoor leisure and sporting venue all year round in keeping with the long-term ambition for the project.

The trust says it is proposing to build the centre without the tower as phase one and that if funds allow to build the tower in a second phase that will provide room for additional rope climbing activities.

A spokesperson the Nene Part Trust said: “We are very disappointed to share that Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet has decided not to allocate additional Towns Fund money to the Lakeside Activity Centre at Ferry Meadows.

At its meeting in October, Cabinet approved the reallocation of around £4.5 million of Towns Fund money to a number of other projects in the city. Lakeside Activity Centre was not among them, despite the Towns Fund Board twice agreeing additional funding for the project. We believe this decision was based on an assessment that did not reflect the project as it stands today. We have shared up-to-date information about the project with the council, and we hope there may yet be an opportunity for the decision to be revisited.

“The Towns Fund has already invested £1.45 million at Lakeside, which contributed towards the enabling phase of the project: the new car park and landscaping, along with further improvements including accessible parking, drainage and a refurbished toilet block. That investment continues to benefit the thousands of people who visit Ferry Meadows every week.

“We have worked hard over the last few years to bring the next phase, the Activity Centre itself, to the point where it was ready to go ahead. Rising construction costs meant we had to go back to the drawing board, and we redesigned the centre so that it could still deliver everything we promised at a much lower cost. We secured an experienced operating partner, Lakeland Climbing Centres, and the Trust committed significant investment of its own. The additional Towns Fund allocation was the final piece of the jigsaw.

“Without it, we have had to put the Lakeside Activity Centre on hold for now.

“We know the plans have prompted strong views, and we have always tried to listen. Through public consultation and conversations with local people, we have worked to address concerns wherever we could, and the revised design reflects much of what we heard. We remain grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their views, whatever they were.

“This is not the end of the story. We still believe Peterborough deserves a year-round climbing and activity centre that is open and accessible to everyone, from families and young people to disabled climbers, and we estimate it would generate more than £26 million in social and economic value for the city. We will now be looking at every option to find replacement funding to enable construction to proceed.

“We would like to thank everyone who has supported the project so far. We share your disappointment, but we have not given up.”