Westminster Life: Turning promises into local pride
2026 will be the year Peterborough starts to turn a corner with some major projects beginning to be delivered, writes Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes.
It might be a cold start to the year, but for Peterborough the future is looking hot. After years of talk, the Station Quarter regeneration is set to kick-start this year after the funding was signed off by the government. This will deliver a new station building and entrances on both sides of the tracks. Plans are moving ahead for our new swimming pool following the £20 million grant from the government, with the new sports facility due to open in 2028. This year we’ve also been given an extra £1.5 million in government support to spruce up our city centre.
One of the projects I am most optimistic about is the Pride in Place funding. Last year it was announced that two areas in our city – Paston, Gunthorpe and Dogsthorpe, and Orton Malborne and Orton Goldhay – have each been awarded £20 million as part of Labour’s Pride in Place programme, meaning £2 million a year over the next decade in guaranteed funding for our communities. After years of our communities being ignored and underfunded, our city is finally seeing the recognition and backing it deserves.
What makes this funding different is not just the scale of the investment but where the power sits. This is money for you, by you, not drawn up in a Whitehall spreadsheet, and not something the council or Combined Authority can quietly carve up behind closed doors.
New neighbourhood boards will be set up in each funded area, led by residents and bringing together community groups, councillors and other voices to shape a ten-year plan for change. Their job will be to listen, involve as many people as possible, and turn local priorities into a practical programme of action.
Over the coming weeks, I will be hosting the first of many community meetings to talk about the funding and how it could be used. The goal is to ensure everyone has the chance to have their say, whether you have a fully worked-up project or just a simple idea you think would make life a bit better on your street.
The ideas that come forward will, rightly, be shaped by everyday experience. For some, that might mean practical improvements like better lighting on paths, safer walkways, or new dog waste bins. Others will want to look at bigger projects over the decade, regenerating tired shopping parades, improving green spaces or creating new facilities for young people. There is no one-size-fits-all template here; the programme is deliberately flexible so each neighbourhood can agree a plan that reflects its character and priorities.
After years when Peterborough had to fight for every bit of regeneration money, Pride in Place shows a Labour government putting its faith in communities and backing local knowledge with real resources, not just warm words. The task now is to make sure that opportunity is seized: that residents come forward, neighbourhood boards are truly representative, and the plans agreed reflect the ambitions of the people who live here.