MAYOR ELECTION: New Peterborough university ‘going nowhere before I was elected,’ claims metro mayor

Mayor James Palmer believes the new technical university opening in 2022 will be “transformational” for Peterborough, despite criticism from rivals for his job that the plans lack ambition and a unique selling point.

The negative feedback meets short shrift from the leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority who believes ARU Peterborough can match the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in its impact.

“I think to suggest we’re not ambitious enough is a little bit a lack of understanding of what we’re achieving in Peterborough,” Mayor Palmer said in an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph ahead of May’s election.

“The first technical university in the UK, a university based on offering premium apprenticeship opportunities, the potential for Masters, bringing in the Peterborough business sector, transforming the way Peterborough is viewed across the country.

“Also, we know already it’s been a catalyst for growth in the Peterborough economy - the Station Quarter, North Westgate, the investment into the city centre which totals hundreds of millions of pounds, the football club coming into the site.

“These are things which are happening because of our investment into the university. I think to say it’s not ambitious enough is quite incredible.

“We’ve achieved in three-and-a-half years not just phase one (the campus), but phase two funding (a research centre) for the university, and we will be bidding for funding for phase three (an extension of the campus) next year.

“Our ambitions do not stop. We will continue to drive forward with the university. It is a different kind of university. If you look at Boston they have Harvard which is very similar to Cambridge, and they also have MIT, and I think a Peterborough university can become our MIT and reach the levels that MIT has reached in Boston.”

Works have begun on the new campus at the Wirrina Car Park which will open in 2022 initially for 2,000 students.

Initial courses will include: innovation, engineering, manufacturing, agri-tech, life sciences and health.

The university will be run by Anglia Ruskin University, with plans for it to become independent in 2032.

This was different from the original plans which were for the university to have University Centre Peterborough as the academic provider (with independence in 2025) before UCP was replaced.

The prospect of a university for Peterborough was only given encouragement by the Government as part of a devolution deal which created the role of an elected mayor.

Commenting on the process over the past three-and-a-half years since becoming the county’s metro mayor, Mayor Palmer said: “There’s been a lot of misunderstanding here. I inherited a university that had been talked about for 20-25 years and it was clear to me from day one that what had been proposed was not going to be sustainable and was not going to be profitable and was not going to be good for Peterborough.

“So we got advice and went out to the market saying ‘what is the best solution for this city?’ I didn’t change direction at all. I took the evidence that I had and we drove forward with delivering the project.

“Before I was elected, and I’m blowing my own trumpet a little bit, the Peterborough university project was going absolutely nowhere. It was not going to be delivered.

“Three-and-a-half years later there are spades in the ground and Peterborough has the beginnings of a university. And not just a university, but a unique university which is bespoke for the city.”

Asked what had been wrong previously, Mayor Palmer replied: “I thought the ambition for the Peterborough university was too low level and low aspiration. I thought it was offering too many courses that were not going to benefit local people or the local economy.

“That was why it was so important to take stock and deliver the right solution.

“Our decision making all the way through has been clear and concise. We’ve got this university to a very good starting position.”

The mayor said initial numbers for the university were “fanciful,” beginning at 10,000 rather than the now proposed 2,000. Student numbers will be scaled up over the years after the first cohort begin, with many working off-campus or in apprenticeships with local businesses.

Mayor Palmer added: “Don’t forget this is going to be a different type of university. You are going to come to this university for a career. It’s very specific, it’s very limited in the courses, but those courses are entirely linked to the economy around Peterborough and the opportunities.

“I’m very confident that we’ve got our numbers right. We’ve gone out to the market and got the best possible advice - we’ve been criticised for doing that. We’ve got our processes in order and I’m very, very confident that the university is going to be transformational for Peterborough.”