Town Hall View: City achievements that should be celebrated

I was delighted to see Peterborough Women’s Aid crowned ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ for its fantastic work supporting women and girls who have experienced domestic abuse and violence.

The council is a big supporter of Peterborough Women’s Aid, which has been doing fantastic work in the city for almost 50 years. It was great to see that dedication recognised and applauded.

I handed out the award for ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ to Adam Hesson, Managing Director of Crowdsafe UK, a local business which provides security and crowd management. Having launched just prior to the Covid pandemic, which impacted his customer base, Adam changed his business model to provide marshals for supermarkets to support social distancing for shoppers. His story is a fantastic example of resilience and entrepreneurial spirit in the most challenging and unprecedented times.

On the subject of challenging times, it was a real privilege to hear from guest speaker Jamie McAnsh, who is a shining example of how to succeed and create opportunity in the face of adversity.

Jamie has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) which has left him in constant pain and reliant on a wheelchair. However, his ability to take that and use it as a force for good (including climbing a mountain on his bare hands and competing regionally and nationally in basketball tournaments), is nothing short of remarkable. As Jamie told the room last Thursday, failing was never an option - you either succeed or you learn; a salutary lesson for us all.

What a great outlook to have on the world, and it is something I can identify with when I reflect on my first six months in charge of the council with a new cabinet supporting me.

Back in May we inherited a number of very difficult issues and failing was not an option. We are focused on tackling those issues and finding a way forward, learning from what has happened in the past.

Whether it’s our stark financial challenge, finding a way forward for the unfinished Hilton hotel, resolving the long-running issue over the fencing of Ken Stimpson Academy’s playing fields, or proceeding with the asset review, we’ve faced one tough decision after another.

With all of those issues, and with many more to come, I don’t doubt, we are looking at them objectively, with a fresh perspective, to make what we believe to be the best decisions for the residents of Peterborough. These are decisions that should have been made many years ago, in some cases.

The council’s finances are one area where failing is not an option, and where succeeding and learning from the past are crucial.

Take council tax for example. No politician ever wants to ask residents to pay more, but we know that failing to do so in the past is part of the reason the council’s finances are now in such a perilous state – coupled with the years of underfunding from central Government. Freezing council tax in the past has now cost the council £96m in total and £10m of that in the past year alone, money we would have in our budget now to deliver services.

We have a plan to deliver a balanced budget in the new financial year and details will be published on 10 December in the agenda for the cabinet meeting the following week. However, balancing the budget will require some tough decisions to be made. As I have said before, we will make those decisions in the best interests of the city. Failing is not an option; we must succeed and learn and that is what we are doing every day.

The finishing touches to a lasting memorial to former councillor and city Mayor Charles Swift OBE have been installed.

Back in the summer, we announced that the square adjacent to the council’s offices at Sand Martin House was to be named after Charles and a memorial plaque was unveiled there at a special ceremony.

Last week, ‘Charles Swift Square’ signage was installed around the area, completing the memorial and ensuring that his incredible legacy will live on in Peterborough.

Charles is believed to be the country’s longest-serving councillor, having served the authority from 1954 until 2016. He passed away in August 2022 aged 92.

I know that Charles’s family were delighted with the memorial and we feel it is a fitting tribute to his unique achievements, which our council is proud to be associated with.

For families with young children, the Christmas period can be an expensive and stressful time, but the good news is that there is lots of support available. Families with school-aged children can join our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, which offers plenty for youngsters to do during the Christmas half-term break, including sports camps, arts and crafts, baking and dancing. To find out more

visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/haf

Once again, we will be issuing the popular supermarket vouchers to eligible families to help them support their children during the Christmas school holidays. The £40 vouchers are sent automatically to eligible families using school data and information held by the council.

Please visit https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-education/holiday-voucher-scheme for more details and to check if you are eligible for support.

Finally, I had a fantastic time at last week’s big Christmas lights switch-on and want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in making this spectacular event happen.

Thank you also to everybody who came along, seeing the city centre packed with hundreds of people enjoying themselves and seeing it spectacularly lit-up was an amazing experience.

Sticking with a festive theme, there will be special screenings at Peterborough Cathedral of ‘The Snowman’ and The Bear, the Piano, the dog and the Fiddle, accompanied by a live orchestra on Saturday, 7 December. Visit www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk for more details.