When I became Leader of the Council, I shared my ambition for Peterborough to become ‘a child friendly city’.
This means putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do, making decisions that improve the quality of their lives.
One of the ways we are looking to do that is through a Youth Zone which would provide young people aged 8-18 (up to 25 with additional needs) with a safe, affordable, and engaging space to socialise, learn new skills, and, above all, have fun.
There has long been aspiration for this across the city, and I'm pleased that we're working alongside national youth charity, ‘OnSide’ to develop a proposal to deliver a purpose-built facility next to the Key theatre and we are in the process of talking to lots of people, including young people, to get their views. On delivery, it will offer a host of activities, including sports, recording studios, to name a few, all staffed by dedicated youth workers. Youth Zones not only aim to build young people's confidence, skills, and ambition, it offers a positive alternative to spending time on the streets.
OnSide has a network of thriving Youth Zones across the country providing services to young people seven days a week. We want Peterborough to join that network, by becoming the first in the region, and benefit from the amazing work they do.
I was lucky enough to visit their centre in Warrington not too long ago. In addition to all the things mentioned above, I was really impressed by the emphasis on mental wellbeing, not to mention reasonably priced food and a low cost of admission reducing barriers to entry for everyone.
I recently had the privilege to chair a discussion panel with young people from across the country whose lives had been transformed by having a Youth Zone in their town or city. We’re a young city and I see this as a positive investment in our young people.
We are currently engaging with the community, ahead of preparing a planning application which will be submitted later in the year. If you’d like to get involved, please complete our quick online survey. You can find it by typing ‘youth zone’ into the council’s website.
On the subject of positive growth, I’m pleased to report progress in the past week on plans for a new indoor swimming pool in the city.
Peterborough City Council hosted a summit, bringing together officers, the city’s MPs, Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling, alongside representatives from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, ARU Peterborough and City of Peterborough Swimming Club, to kick start a business plan for a new pool and sports quarter.
This is something I know residents in the city need, want and deserve so I am delighted that the announcement from Government of a new £240 million fund to carry out local
projects such as a new pool can accelerate our plans. The pool is intended to be part of a new ‘sports quarter’ around the ARU Peterborough University site.
The backing from Government fired the starting gun in attracting funding needed to deliver a new pool and for us and our partners to develop a business case. As this is public money we must ensure we spend it wisely and well. It was heartening to feel the passion and enthusiasm in the room to deliver a much-needed new pool with a commitment from us all to work together to see this happen as soon as possible so that when Government opens for applications we are at the head of the queue.