I’m a proud Peterborian and love championing our historic city at any given opportunity.
The fact that we are one of the country’s fastest growing cities is something we should be proud about – people want to live, work, play and invest here and that trend is going to continue.
As Deputy Leader of the council, I’m really excited about several ongoing growth projects which have the potential to positively shape our city’s future for years to come, such as the Station Quarter, Fletton Quays and our new university which is already having a big impact.
However, with great opportunities come big challenges. Many people want to come to Peterborough, but we must ensure we can provide enough homes and sufficient infrastructure for them.
This is why we welcomed the government's recent announcement of changes to National Policy and the proposal to increase mandatory planning targets for new Local Plans.
Here in Peterborough, we already have an appetite to grow as a city and have an ambitious draft Local Plan in progress. By pre-selecting areas for development we can make sure they have the supporting infrastructure around them to develop communities that will help our city grow in the right way for years to come.
We are currently drafting the next version of the Local Plan, to make sure it is aligned with the government's ambitious growth agenda, and its proposed changes to the planning system.
This will be subject to public consultation later this year, and everyone with an interest will have the opportunity to make comments about the draft plan. It is a crucial stage of the plan making process, because for the first time the sites that are proposed to be allocated for development will be published.
We will be writing to parish councils, and others, to let them know when the consultation starts, and we will make a further media statement at that time, to raise awareness.
It is an exciting time to live and work in Peterborough, and the day of the ambitious regeneration plans becoming reality is getting closer all the time. You are all invited to give your feedback on those plans, so keep watching the council's website and social media for updates.
I am pleased to see that the enforcement of moving traffic offences in Peterborough is being increased.
Back in February, the council started a new initiative to penalise poor and illegal driving habits, reduce congestion, improve air quality and road safety, as well as encouraging sustainable travel.
A new enforcement site in Church Street went live on Monday. This will prevent vehicles regularly driving the wrong way in Church Street to access the pedestrian area, putting pedestrians in danger and driving against the flow of other authorised vehicles.
No entry signage has been installed and motorists who ignore this will be committing a breach. A six-month warning notice period for first time offences in Church Street will start on this date, meaning that penalty charge notices (PCNs) will be issued during that time for repeat offenders.
We started this initiative following a public consultation, so we are taking effective action over issues that residents were concerned about. The new powers will help us achieve many of our key aims such as improving road safety and encouraging sustainable travel, benefitting road users and residents alike.
Our housing standards team works tirelessly to ensure that housing across our city is up to scratch so that tenants are kept safe.
The vast majority of landlords in the city are decent law-abiding people, but whenever the team become aware of landlords breaching the law they take appropriate action.
This was the case with city landlord Olaseni George who was heavily fined last week for allowing a family to live in a substandard property with serious hazards including damp and mould.
I’m confident that this prosecution will serve as a warning to the small minority of landlords who put their tenants at risk and flout the law. Landlords play an essential role in providing safe, warm and healthy homes to the residents of Peterborough.
If you have any concerns about the safety, suitability and/or management of a rented property in the city, please contact (01733) 747474 or visit https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/residents/housing/private-housing-advice.
Finally, if you are free this weekend why not pop into Cathedral Square on Saturday where Peterborough’s Strongest man contest is returning.
The event will see competitors go head-to-head in weightlifting and truck pulling. It starts at 10am and sure to be fun for all the family.