Active Travel Fund approval
Cabinet approved the award of highway works to the value of £1,138,537 to M Group Limited for the delivery of three active travel schemes. These are:
- Stanham Way Cycleway - £275,000
- Bourges Boulevard Cycleway - £663,537
- Peterborough Station Quarter Citylink - £200,000
Funding comes from the Government’s Consolidated Active Travel Fund via the CPCA. We have issued the following press release: Three active travel schemes to be progressed on our website.
A16 Norwood dualling full business case and detailed design
Cabinet approved the award of highway works to the value of £727,000 to M Group Highways Limited to complete the Full Business Case and detailed design for the A16 Norwood project.
2,000 new homes are planned as part of the Norwood and Paston Reserve urban extension, including a local centre and primary school. A package of interventions is needed to improve congestion, safety and enable growth in the area including dualling of the A16 Norwood between the development roundabout and the A16 / A47 / Welland Road Roundabout.
Refuge and safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a statutory duty on local authorities to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence. Locally this includes support within refuge and dispersed accommodation, which is currently commissioned jointly with Cambridgeshire County Council. The new service, which commences on 1 April 2026, will be for Peterborough only. It is anticipated that approximately 30 adults and 30 children subjected to domestic abuse will be supported each year from this service, subject to the availability of move on accommodation available.
Contract Sharing Agreement – Strategic Blue
Strategic Blue AWS offers best value financial operations for the financial management of the AWS cloud service. The council is therefore provided with an effective ICT service which offers cost savings, better security and improved disaster recovery. Cambridgeshire County Council wants to use our existing contract to access the service. As a result the council will receive discounts for the additional volume of services sourced from this contract. Cabinet approved the contract variation to allow this to happen.
Approval for the Local Youth Transformation Pilot
The Local Youth Transformation Pilot, a DCMS funded project, aims to enhance the youth offer delivered by councils. The council bid for the money in May and we are one of only 12 to be successful. The total grant amount is £673,471.06 plus another £50,000 for capital spend on digital enhancements. The pilot is aimed at developing the infrastructure and support for the current youth sector to enhance and improve the youth offer for all young people in the city. Included is £125,000 allocated to empowering new projects and innovation for local youth and community organisations in way of small grants, up to £10,000 each, and £100,000 to enhance outreach and increase access for local youth and community groups to increase their capacity and reach into the community.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Cabinet approved the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for publication. The LNRS was introduced within the Environment Act 2021 with the purpose of creating a cohesive plan to recover nature across England. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has created a LNRS for the whole combined authority area. The LNRS has been through several stages of public and internal consultation and requires final approval from each of the supporting authorities within the CPCA.
Supply of devices and drugs within primary care health services
Cabinet approved the council entering into a legal agreement with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board from 1 April 2026 until 30 June 2029, to cover costs of drugs and devices prescribed within primary care smoking cessation and long-acting reversible contraception services.
Budget consultation feedback
Cabinet received feedback on the recent six week consultation held as part of the 2026/27 budget setting process. Cllr Mohammed Jamil thanked those who took part in the consultation and said that feedback will now be used to set the budget.
Overall, 328 survey responses were received and almost 2,000 responses to social media polls.
Services residents prioritised for spend were schools and education (including special educational needs), Adult Social Care and Children’s Social Care. There was also strong opposition to raising council tax above the national limit.
Peterborough Limited – recruitment
The consent of the council, as the sole shareholder of Peterborough Limited (PL), is required in order for the company to take certain actions. Cabinet gave consent for Peterborough Limited to recruit and make offers of employment in relation to the positions of Waste Supervisor and Chargehand. Delegated authority was also approved for Executive Directors to authorise and give consent to make offers of employment in the future and/or alter remuneration or conditions of employment of PL/PCHLL employees or consultants.
Disposal of the council’s freehold interest in the New England Complex
Cabinet approved the disposal of the council’s freehold interest in the New England Complex, Lincoln Road, following a competitive Best and Final Offer (BAFO) process concluded in October 2025.
Four compliant bids were evaluated using the following scoring framework:
- 70% financial
- 20% social value
- 10% future benefit and deliverability
Cabinet approved the disposal of Units 1-7 of the New England Complex to the bidder which demonstrates best value for money, but also evidences suitable social value for its users, existing tenants and the wider community.
The name of the winning bidder will not be made public until the conclusion of the call-in period.
Marketing outcome and disposal of 62-68 Bridge Street (former Woolworths/TK Maxx and New Look building)
Cabinet agreed to dispose of the building to Bridge Street (March) Limited. More information can be found here in the press release issued ahead of the meeting. Read the full article Cabinet approval sought for sale of former TK Maxx building on our website.
Write-off of irrecoverable debts in excess of £10,000
Cabinet approved the write-off of irrecoverable debt in respect of Council Tax, Non-Domestic (Business) Rates, Housing Benefit overpayments and Sundry Debt. The total value of irrecoverable debts in excess of £10,000 outlined in this report was £100,362.
We go to great lengths to recover debt and take all necessary action before considering a debt for write off. This includes multiple written reminder letters early in the recovery process, telephone call follow-up, senior management dialogue with counterparts, and where necessary, court and enforcement action. It can take several years before all actions have been undertaken and agreement is made to write-off.
Report to the executive in relation to the historical transfer of the John Mansfield Centre
This item related to a report issued on Friday which said that our Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer consider that the council acted unlawfully in relation to the sale of the John Mansfield Centre in 2020 and associated financial transactions.
During discussion of the item Council Leader Shabina Qayyum said that she commended the officers involved for their work on bringing this to light and that they had done the right thing for taxpayers.
Councillor Mohammed Jamil said that we are committed to far-reaching improvements in relation to governance and financial management. Many of the steps we have taken in recent years have led to more robust processes and policies in relation to decision making, however the recommendations before us today seek to take this even further.
Cabinet members approved the recommendations in the report.