Mayor's View: Pitching Peterborough for growth - launching our LGP

In front of key stakeholders and influential voices, we shared our bold ambition for the region, making it clear that Peterborough is a city of potential and now is the time to unlock that.

Back in October, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Board, which I chair, approved the region’s LGP, marking a huge moment for our city’s economic future. Now, that plan has been formally launched in Westminster, following an initial unveiling in AstraZeneca’s Cambridgeshire headquarters on Wednesday (10 December).

This plan is our roadmap to making Peterborough and the rest of Cambridgeshire the fastest growing local economy outside the capital. It’s ambitious, but rightly so.

Peterborough is already a place of potential, with transformed skills and education opportunities, pioneering businesses and a young population. We’re in a great location, with fast links to London, the north and Midlands, and we’re the gateway to the East.

We’re ready to regenerate and grow. Growth brings jobs, opportunity, new businesses and funding for better public services. But to do that, we need investment. The LGP sets out four areas where there is opportunity to supercharge growth, including the Peterborough Opportunity Zone. Peterborough needs improved transport, more homes, better jobs and enabling infrastructure such as energy and water, that is future-proof and fit for purpose. The LGP is a blueprint to address this. It’s built in partnership with the Government and with input from businesses. It specifically sets out targeted investments that will help the city regenerate and growth. The LGP isn’t about wishful thinking, it’s about delivery.

Over the past month, there has been a flurry of growth activity across Peterborough. We launched the new Youth Employment Hub at Peterborough United Stadium which will help equip young people with the skills and support needed to get into work. The Government announced a £20 million contribution towards the cost of a new indoor swimming pool which is another step towards the change our city centre needs. We also saw work commence on Peterborough Station Quarter, which will rejuvenate the city and make it more attractive for visitors and locals. These are just a few of the projects that as Mayor, I’m pushing to get delivered in Peterborough. A new community stadium and free parking are also high on my list.

This week’s LGP launch event was about showing everyone that Peterborough is open for business. The Government wants growth, and I know that we can deliver that right here in Peterborough.

The LGP highlights what our region already does well and the opportunity to accelerate this further.

However, growth must work for locals first. We’ve kept local communities and businesses in mind throughout the creation of this plan. I want Peterborough to be a place where people want to live, work and visit. And with the right investment, I believe we can make this happen.

With the support and resource of the Combined Authority behind me, I am committed to delivering the LGP and my promise to get Peterborough moving.