Westminster Life: We are building a better Peterborough

We haven’t built a major reservoir in this country for 30 years, so the news that the Government is speeding up plans in the Fens is welcome news. After the delays of the last decade, we are getting on with the job.

The project, delivered in partnership with Anglian Water and Cambridge Water, will help safeguard water for up to 250,000 homes and ease the pressure on our precious chalk streams and aquifers. At a time when climate change is making water security ever more important, the Reservoir will also support local jobs, farming, and our environment.

The new Reservoir will be critical to jobs, regeneration and supporting new homes in the region. It will be a major engineering and construction project, and I want to see some of those new jobs come our way in Peterborough.

I will be fighting to make sure those jobs and apprenticeships come to our city.

I’m also committed to making sure local people have their say as the plans develop, so we get the best for Peterborough and real benefits for everyone in our community.

I’d like to put on record my thanks to Ministers for listening to Sam Carling MP and myself and taking action to speed this vital project up.

We are also going to benefit from over £5 million investment in our local hospitals through repairs and upgrades at Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough hospitals.

Across the country, over 400 hospitals, mental health units and ambulance sites will be handed £750 million to tackle long-term problems such as leaky pipes, poor ventilation and electrical issues, helping to prevent thousands of cancelled operations and appointments.

This funding is vital and another step in this Government’s mission to fix the dire state of public service infrastructure we inherited from the Tories.

Across the country, fixing the backlog of maintenance at NHS hospitals will help prevent cancellations, with services disrupted over 4,000 times in 2023/24 due to issues with poor-quality buildings.

Step by step, we are fixing the foundations for the NHS and increasing appointments, as well as helping to make it fit for the future with vital maintenance to help prevent cancelled appointments.

Back in the city centre, plans are moving forward for a new indoor pool. I’ve had some great meetings over recent days with partners and stakeholders about the need for a new pool, including with the City of Peterborough Swimming Club.

I’d love to see a new pool built right next door to ARU Peterborough – in the city centre, and as part of a university. The benefits for our community, local talent, and the wider region are enormous. What matters now is rallying all the key players to maintain momentum. I hope we can unite partners, including the Mayor, to work across party lines and interests to make this vision a reality.