Westminster Life: Backing Peterborough - from pipes to pavements

It was a pleasure to join National Gas as they announced £870 million of investment across the East of England over the next five years, with Peterborough at the heart of those plans as the home of the company’s new East Region headquarters. This builds on the £350 million programme announced last year for new hydrogen‑ready compressors at the Werrington site, underlining our city’s position at the heart of the UK’s gas network.

I’ve worked with the company on this for nearly two years, making the case for investment and the new HQ in Peterborough. So, it was great to welcome the Energy Minister, Chris McDonald, to open their new office and visit the Werrington Compressor site alongside Sam Carling MP. The announcement is a sign we are turning the corner. National Gas expects to create 250 extra jobs and safeguard around 300 more across the region, with many of those roles linked to their new HQ and work at their Werrington site.

These are the kind of skilled, long‑term jobs we need, offering opportunities through apprenticeships, graduate schemes and specialist roles in clean energy and engineering. Since being elected, a central part of my work has been making the case for Peterborough as a place to invest – talking to ministers, national businesses and local employers about the potential of our city and its people.

Too many people are stuck in insecure or low‑paid work, so landing projects like these matters because they can lift the whole local economy, from supply‑chain firms to small businesses on our high streets. With ARU Peterborough and Peterborough College already investing in green skills, this National Gas decision is another sign that we can be at the forefront of the next generation of clean energy jobs, not just watching them go elsewhere.

We also saw a more pedestrian change this week. The Government announced it is going to give councils more local powers to deal with pavement parking. This may seem a small issue, but cars blocking pavements are raised with me a lot. It can be a serious barrier for older people, wheelchair users, blind and partially sighted residents, and parents pushing prams, who are sometimes forced into the road just to get by. I am reminded of one constituent, who had effectively been trapped in their own home because a badly parked car left no room for their mobility scooter to get out of their drive, an indignity no one should have to put up with in our city.

In response, the Government has now confirmed new local powers for councils in England to crack down on problem pavement parking, making it easier to restrict it across wider areas rather than street by street. Local authorities will be able to act where vehicles cause “unnecessary obstruction” of the pavement, with guidance due later this year on how to enforce the rules fairly and proportionately.

This is about making our streets safer and more accessible, while giving local leaders the tools they need to reflect local circumstances.​