Peterborough Conservatives promise to deliver for all if party retains power at council elections

The Tories have highlighted three ‘priority outcomes’ ahead of May’s local elections where they will look to extend their 20 years in control of the city council.

Of the 60 seats in the Council Chamber, 23 are being contested on May 6. The Conservatives do not currently hold a majority but retain power thanks to the support of the three Werrington First councillors, however, any loss of seats could allow for a coalition of opponents to take over.

The party will also need a new chief after May with current council leader Cllr John Holdich retiring from the authority, while cabinet member for finance Cllr David Seaton has also indicated he will step down.

The Conservatives said: “Our aim is to create a Peterborough that residents are proud to live, work and grow up in and where the services delivered are what local people need and give value for money, and at the same time keeping council tax as low as we can for all our residents.

“On a daily basis and as budgets allow we will double our efforts to keep the city clean, we’ll be cracking down on crime and anti-social behaviour, getting to grips with speeding in our neighbourhoods, and we will aim to fix more roads and pavements and improve neighbourhood parking across the city.

“These are the things that residents tell us are important to them and we are listening.”

The three priority outcomes are:

. Pride in our communities, our places and our environment

. First rate futures for our children and young people; quality support for our adults and elderly

. Better jobs, good homes and improved opportunities for all.

The party said: “We want to ensure Peterborough is a clean, safe and sustainable city providing a welcoming environment, with a strong arts, culture and leisure offer for its citizens and visitors.

“A place where people are able to utilise spaces in Peterborough for walking, cycling, recreation and their health and wellbeing.

“We want communities and neighbourhoods to value and respect each other and get involved in making choices that affect them, and to make sure the city works together as one to address the climate emergency, getting us on the path to net zero emissions by 2030.”

It added that it wants Peterborough’s children and young people to have “the best start in life to enable them to realise their full potential,” through good quality education, skills and training.

It is also pledging to make sure Peterborough “continues to sustainably grow and is a thriving and connected city attracting businesses, investment and tourism”.

This includes making sure “job opportunities are available, enabling people to be economically independent,” and that “all adults have access to skills training to increase their employment and volunteering opportunities”.

Increasing the availability and choice of housing is another pledge.

The Conservatives have regularly claimed to have shown financial prudence in the face of severe budget cuts to its government funding.

If the party retains power in May it said it will bring all current councils plans and strategies into a single framework in order to “drive a shared vision for Peterborough”.

The framework would include a corporate strategy “describing the vision for Peterborough, the outcomes we strive for and our priorities for change,” and would include “a set of ambitious performance measures which will be used to hold us to account for improvement”.

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