Just before Christmas the Government fired the starting gun for local government reorganisation, signalling the biggest change for councils likes ours in a generation, writes city council leader Dennis Jones (Labour).

Put simply, it means a move away from two-tier systems where you have district and county councils, like you have across the rest of Cambridgeshire, and a move towards unitary councils like ours which provide all council services.

In the past few months, I’ve been working with council leaders across the county, looking at what future arrangements could look like and to understand the differing perspectives of each area.

Last Friday, we sent a letter to Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon MP, setting out our plans for how services could be delivered across Peterborough and wider Cambridgeshire, by a new structure of unitary councils.

City council leader Dennis Jones addressing moves towards unitary councils like Peterborough's which provide all council services.

placeholder image — City council leader Dennis Jones addressing moves towards unitary councils like Peterborough's which provide all council services.

Although it’s natural to have reservations about change, we’re all approaching it with an open mind and with the best interests of our residents to the fore.

We don’t yet have a preferred option to present to Government, but further work will take place after the elections to reach a shared understanding of how best to progress our proposals.

I will keep you up to date as plans progress, and of course there will be public consultation, but in the meantime, I commit to working together with my fellow council leaders to achieve the best outcome possible for our residents and every community in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

On Monday Cabinet came together to agree the launch of public consultation on the council’s Draft Local Plan. Put simply, it’s a vision to support new homes, workspaces, transport, community facilities and other infrastructure, outlining how the city and surrounding villages will grow and change over the next 20 years.

We are a growing city, part of a growing country, and we must increase the number of homes that are available to ensure there are enough homes of all sizes and tenures to meet the needs of our residents in the future.

The sites that are in the Draft Local Plan have been put forward by a working group that has included council officers and councillors from all political groups. They have been considering potential sites, which allow us to meet the targets we have been set, since last summer.

However, we know that there will be opposition to some of the sites put forward. We heard from Martin Chillcott, of Protect Rural Peterborough, at the Cabinet meeting last week, in relation to the proposal for Castor and Ailsworth.

The consultation will launch on April 11 and there will be a number of ways that people can get involved and have their say.

We have a good track record as an administration in relation to consultation and listening to what people tell us and then seeing how we can change our approach. You have seen this with the Shaping Our City consultation which informed our new Corporate Strategy, and the budget consultation where we agreed to look again at a number of proposals, including the closure of the Lido.

So, please, get involved when the consultation launches and tell us what you think. When you do, please bear in mind that if you are asking us to remove homes from one area, we will have to increase the number of homes in another area, because we have to meet our target.

I’ll update you on our plans for the consultation in the coming weeks, but further details are available on the council’s website.

Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and helping communities to save energy was demonstrated recently.

With support from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) we have been awarded just over £50,000 to Marholm Village Hall Trust, Wansford Parish Council and Northborough Parish Council which will see solar panels and solar lighting installed on buildings owned by the groups.

Having declared a climate emergency in 2019, the council is actively working to reduce its own organisational emissions to net-zero by 2030 and help communities do the same. This project, which was part was part the Net Zero Villages initiative, is one of several schemes we’ve currently got on the go.

On a related subject, we would like to hear your views on energy use, travel habits and potential home energy improvements as part of a new survey which will aid our work to become a greener city.

The survey will only take ten minutes of your time, and it will help develop energy and transport initiatives in Peterborough, including the Peterborough Accelerated Net Zero (PANZ) project.

We are currently promoting the survey on our social media accounts and you can also take part by visiting the climate change page on our website – www.peterborough.gov.uk.

Thousands of Muslims across Peterborough have been fasting for the past month and in the coming days they will celebrate Eid. I wish those who will be celebrating Eid Mubarak well.