MAYOR ELECTION: ‘I have delivered for Peterborough,’ claims metro mayor

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority was set up in 2017 with the government handing over hundreds of millions of pounds to deliver major infrastructure and housing projects.

This included £170 million for new affordable homes, with £70 million ringfenced for Cambridge.

In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph, James Palmer, the first elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, insisted the north of the county has done well since the new mayoral authority began.

This includes the sign-off of 1,393 housing units in Peterborough, of which 347 have been directly funded by the combined authority, amid an overall target of 2,000 for the county.

And while others have criticised the mayor for not getting enough affordable housing projects off the ground, he insists that is not the case, adding: “Peterborough has definitely had its fair share.”

One of the combined authority’s landmark projects is for £100,000 homes, which the mayor “fully expects to be a reality in Peterborough in the next four years” with young people among those being supported onto the housing ladder.

As for transport, a number of road improvement schemes have begun, including junction improvements at Nene Parkway , the introduction of a new right-hand turn off the A605 towards Pondersbridge, and a new road and bridge over the King’s Dyke Level Crossing - a notorious bottleneck.

“I’m very proud of my record, but we’re not done yet. There’s a lot to do,” said Mayor Palmer, who is lobbying to get the A47 fully dualled between Peterborough and Wisbech and is preparing to bring forward new bus franchising powers which he believes will be “transformational,” particularly in rural areas.

Other areas of investment include Covid-19 support in Peterborough city centre and a revamp of adult education which the mayor says has been a “huge, huge success” with retraining in areas such as the care sector and support for people who could not speak English.

He added: “Talking to these people who did not think they could take part in society at all, not even to go shopping - the repurposing of adult education has opened doors for them in work, opened doors for them in social life, opened doors to the opportunities that Peterborough can offer, and I think that’s really, really exciting. And I’m very, very proud of what we’ve done for adult education.”

Defending his overall record, he added: “There are a significant number of things we’ve done in Peterborough which have improved people’s lives.”