There are few things more important to my administration than making sure the city’s children and young people get the best start in life, which includes taking care of those who aren’t able to live with their birth families.
Our mantra is always that children in our care deserve and should receive the same care and support that we would offer and expect for our own children.
This is one of the reasons we launched the House Project a year ago, to help our young care leavers transition into adulthood and achieve independent futures.
The scheme recently celebrated its first anniversary and I am pleased to say that it has already helped a good number of young people to learn vital life skills and gain confidence, putting them in control of their futures as they look to start careers and move into their own homes.
Six young people have already moved into permanent homes which is fantastic.
We were the first authority in the East of England to launch our very own House Project last year and I am incredibly proud of what it is achieving for our young people.
Last November the council sent its preferred option for Local Government Reorganisation to Government, which was for a Greater Peterborough model. Known as Option D, it sets out our rationale for three unitary councils, with Peterborough and West Huntingdonshire coming together.
In total, four potential options were shared with Government, which has reviewed the proposals and now launched a public consultation to gauge the views of residents.
I have made it clear that a Greater Peterborough option is my preferred choice as it builds on our heritage but brings in new areas as well – a bigger authority but with Peterborough at its heart. My main consideration will always be that our city gets the focus and attention that it needs and can operate in a financially sustainable way.
Please have a look at the consultation which you can access on our website and social media channels and have your day before the deadline on 26 March.
Last week I spoke about the importance of growth and regeneration for our city and how I am unashamedly banging the drum for investment.
An area of focus is of course our city centre which is why we’ve launched our Visioning Project which aims to create a truly inclusive city centre which attracts residents, visitors and new businesses to invest. We’re at the consultation stage of the process and I am pleased to say that more than 400 people have chosen to share their views.
Some of the themes coming through are of no surprise to us and will feature as part of our plan – more events, increased safety, the need for more toilets.
The recent Centre for Cities report, which examines the economic performance of the UK’s 63 largest towns and cities report, is a good indicator of this.
Latest data shows we are the fifth fastest growing city in the UK and that our jobs market has grown by almost a quarter from 2014 to 2024 giving us the third highest jobs growth. We also have the 13th highest number of businesses per 10,000 people and the 16th highest housing stock growth.
Our growth plans now are now focussing on bringing more highly skilled and highly paid jobs to give our residents higher levels of disposable income to make Peterborough a city of opportunity for all.
Lastly, we have submitted our Expression of Interest for Peterborough to become the City of Culture 2029. This has been a Labour of love by all our partners across the city from faith groups to cultural and heritage organisations and not to mention our volunteers. Our city deserves to be celebrated, and it has been refreshing to see the media coverage this has had.
It is indeed the dawn of a new era.