WATCH: Green Party mayoral candidate Bob Ensch’s plans for Peterborough and how he would help low-income families

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) mayoral election takes place on Thursday, May 1.

Five candidates are in the running, including Paul Bristow (Conservative), Ryan Coogan (Reform), Lorna Dupre (Liberal Democrats), Bob Ensch (Green Party) and Anna Smith (Labour).

A combined authority mayor makes important decisions for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is responsible for a £20 million annual budget, as well as having devolved powers to spend up to £800 million on local housing, infrastructure and jobs.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) sat down with Green Party candidate Bob Ensch to discuss his plans for Peterborough if elected on May 1.

The LDRS has invited all five candidates for interviews, which will be published in the run up to the election.

Who is Bob Ensch?

Bob Ensch has been a member of the Green Party for four years and has lived in South Cambridgeshire for around 35 years.

He is now retired but has a background in construction, having most recently been the director of local company Morgan Sindall.

Mr Ensch said: “Since I’ve retired, I’ve put a lot of my energy into a number of charities.”

The 66-year-old is currently a non-executive director at a not-for-profit business called TrAC that employs and trains construction apprentices.

In addition, he is also the programme lead for FutureIN and a trustee at It Takes A City, which provides modular houses for the homeless.

Mr Ensch is also a beekeeper in his spare time.

What are Bob Ensch’s plans for Peterborough if elected?

“Obviously I live in South Cambridgeshire. I’m not trying to hide that, so I don’t know Peterborough as well as I do the south of the area,” said Mr Ensch.

“Having said that, I have been involved in a number of construction projects here and have bid for a lot of work here, including the refurbishment of the Town Hall some while back.”

In terms of his main priorities for Peterborough, Mr Ensch said he wants to improve public transport and ensure that new communities have the facilities they need.

He said: “I’ve spoken with a lot of the Green Party colleagues I’ve got here in Peterborough and they told me there is a lot of mistrust with the council and massive debts.

“The pet project at the Hilton Hotel that’s gone pear shaped, the Regional Pool has been closed, there was a plan to mothball the Lido, the speedway has gone, and we’ve lost the market. If I lived in Peterborough I’d be pretty brassed off.

“These are the two things as mayor that I’d focus on in Peterborough. Making sure that the new communities that have been built here have got community facilities.

“It’s an absolute outrage that developers are allowed to build these big new estates and there’s no GPs, no dentists, no community halls, no sports facilities. It’s just like building dormitories.

“The other thing that seems to be a big issue in Peterborough is public transport. It’s a big issue in the south of the region as well.

“Improving bus services, having more routes, orbital bus services. So I would look into doing that as well.”

Some candidates in the election have promised a new regional pool in Peterborough if elected, following the demolition of the pool on Bishop’s Road.

Mr Ensch said: “I don’t know a lot about it but every city should have a swimming pool for crying out loud.”

When asked if building a new regional pool is something he would support, he said: “Absolutely, of course I would.

“If Posh want to build a new stadium they’re quite welcome to do it. I’m not going to get involved in promoting it for them.”

A new community football stadium for Peterborough United, with a swimming pool and concert venue, is a pledge put forward by Conservative candidate Paul Bristow.

Mr Ensch also said he wants to encourage economic growth in the region, but protect the environment at the same time.

Speaking about the climate crisis, he said: “What all the other political parties haven’t seemed to understand is that we are causing it.

“It’s us and our obsession with economic growth. I’m not saying I’m going to stop all the growth, but we certainly don’t need to go turbo charging it.

“So much economic growth these days seems to benefit people that are already wealthy. I would like to help low income families, people that can’t make ends meet, people that have to go to food banks.

“Those are the people that we should be helping.”

Why Bob Ensch believes you should vote for him

Mr Ensch said: “What I find very frustrating is that everything in local government is very slow and bureaucratic and ponderous when you have to consult with hundreds and thousands of people. So getting things done takes an interminably long time.

“In business, it doesn’t work like that. If you’ve got to get something done, you drive it hard to make something happen. And that’s the contribution I would want to make if I was elected mayor.”

Latest odds

Mr Ensch is currently fifth favourite to be elected, according to Oddschecker.

Commenting on the latest polls and odds, he said: “It’s a bit of fun isn’t it. I’ve looked at them but I’m not really that focused on them.

“For me, it’s about getting a green message out there to people and getting people to understand that economic growth is the problem, not the solution.”

The election results will be announced at the Ross Peers Sports Centre in Soham on Friday, May 2.

Interviews with the other candidates will feature on the Peterborough Telegraph website in the run up to the election