Promised £7.5m investment in Millfield ‘not being kept’

As we progress through the year, I look forward to offering my own comments on these and other national and international issues, especially where they impact on our own plans.

Moving to a strictly local issue, in January 2017 it was reported that the council intended, as part of its budget proposals, to invest £7.5 million in the relatively deprived areas of Millfield and New England to promote urban regeneration. This was part of the Operation CAN-do, set up in 2011 to address crime, poverty, and fly-tipping and also to promote community spirit.

At the council meeting held on 8 March 2017 the members voted through the Cabinet’s recommendation for the Medium Term Financial Strategy which included this provision, the proposal being that the Council would implement this project themselves in order to create ‘a strong sense of place’.

Almost three years on and there is no sign of implementation or the promised investment. Not only that, but, to the best of my knowledge there has been no explanation of the delay.

My colleagues and I regularly attend the meetings of the Millfield and New England Regeneration Partnership (MANERP) and it is clear that this investment is sorely needed.

It’s not apathy or lack of willpower that’s holding things up. How can people be expected to put their trust in a local authority that neither delivers on its promises nor provides any explanation for the delay? As a councillor, I am only too well aware of the problems and shortfalls that surround the Council’s budget, but does this justify the lack of explanation?

Accountability should be maintained as a core value and this means providing the electorate with explanations and updates, especially where it has not been possible to carry out a project as planned. Would you vote for someone who showed this degree of prevarication?

It’s not too late, as we go to press, to make a 2020 New Year resolution to be transparent, straightforward and open in all our dealings with others. This means doing what we promise to do and, if circumstances prevent this, keeping those concerned fully informed. No excuses! I urge my fellow councillors to take this on board at the start of this new decade.

Finally, regular readers will know that I am fully committed to regeneration of the more deprived areas of our city as part of the overall strategy to enable Peterborough to develop its full potential as a leading UK city of the 20s. Let’s make 2020 the year we really pull together to achieve this.