About the Peterborough Youth Zone project
Alongside the national youth charity OnSide, we are developing proposals and funding opportunities for a Youth Zone in Peterborough. The aims of the Youth Zone include:
- To improve the prospects of young people in the city
- To provide a safe, inclusive, and inspiring space for young people to develop skills and confidence
We have identified a potential site for the Youth Zone on the Embankment close to the Lido.
Once built, the Youth Zone will be open seven days a week, all year round. It could offer over 20 different activities including a sports hall, boxing ring, dance studio, sensory room, arts and craft, fitness, performing arts and a wellbeing room.
The facility will be a state-of-the-art-space, designed specifically for young people aged 8 to 19, or up to 25, for those with disabilities or additional needs.
OnSide will run the Youth Zone, supported by dedicated youth workers. Its mission is to inspire, support and equip young people with the confidence, skills and opportunities they need to thrive. OnSide already has a national network of 15 Youth Zones across the country with a further eight currently in development. We want Peterborough to join that network and benefit from the amazing work that OnSide does.
Current stage of project
We have concluded RIBA stage 2.
On 13 July 2026, our Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee will hear proposals to seek £410,000 worth of council funding to progress with designs for the new purpose-built £13 million Youth Zone.
At the meeting, councillors will be asked to recommend that Cabinet approves the funding. This is to enable OnSide to work with our officers to progress detailed designs for the new facility.
If approved by Cabinet in July, we would commit up to £410,000 from reserves to further develop the Youth Zone design including entering into a grant agreement with OnSide to deliver RIBA stage 3 designs and to submit a planning application for the proposed Youth Zone.
We also propose to apply for Better Youth Spaces funding towards the Youth Zone project. This is a fund being released in late 2026 administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). A further report will be presented to Cabinet in late 2026, setting out a proposed legal relationship structure and providing a financial update for delivering a Youth Zone in Peterborough.
Design concept and illustrations for Peterborough Youth Zone
Contact information
For more information, please email growthandregeneration@peterborough.gov.uk.