When I became Leader of the Council in May I promised to make the tough decisions needed to get the council onto a stable financial footing.
I was faced with one of those decisions two weeks ago when we had to tell residents that Christmas celebrations in the city would be cancelled if we didn’t reach our sponsorship target.
We never wanted to be the council that cancelled Christmas, as many councils before us before us have had to do, but we simply don’t have the money to pay for it ourselves when demands for services such as children’s social care, adult social care and housing are so high.
Councillors agreed in February that the cost of Christmas would need to be covered by sponsorship, and if we took the decision now to pay for it from the council's budget, it would only increase the £11m financial pressure that we have in the current year because of the huge demand for services.
The good news is that our appeal for sponsorship worked Thanks to several generous individuals, organisations, and businesses we have met our target!
In addition, many of our city councillors have agreed to contribute money from their Community Leadership Fund – a pot of money they can use each year on projects which benefit the people of their ward. I would like to thank those councillors from across the political spectrum for their part in us reaching our target. I am sure many people in their respective wards will appreciate it.
So, put the date in your diary. Our Christmas lights switch-on event will take place on Friday 22 November and will include live music and entertainment on stage, culminating with the switching on of the lights on the Christmas tree and across the city centre. Individual donations are being taken to keep me away!
Also taking place will be Peterborough Cathedral's Christmas market, open from 1pm to 8pm on Friday 22 November and 10am to 5pm on Saturday 23 November. Some of the best local traders and artisans in the area will be in the city for the event. If you want a true sense of the Christmas spirit, look no further than our beautiful cathedral.
Whilst I am delighted that we have found a way to ensure that we can continue to mark Christmas in the city, our financial challenges remain stark. In the next budget year our budget gap is between £13m and £24m, dependent upon whether you look at either a best, or worst, case scenario.
The fact remains that we cannot continue to provide everything we always have for our residents. If we do, we will end up bankrupt.
Currently we are consulting on a new set of priorities for the council, which will guide how we shape our city and spend our money and time in the coming years.
Please get involved in this consultation and come along to one of the public events or have your say using the online form or by joining the Shaping Our City Facebook group. More information is available at www.peterborough.gov.uk/shaping-our-city
In further news, at next week’s Cabinet meeting there will be a positive update on the development of the Hilton Hotel at Fletton Quays. The Hilton is but one of a number of issues that we have inherited as an administration and prioritised in recent months to not only get the best deal for council taxpayers but also see the hotel open as soon as possible.
Cabinet will be asked to approve the transfer of the hotel from the administrators to a bidder who has come forward to take ownership of the hotel.
Details of the bidder and the size of the bid must remain confidential for now, but I can tell you that it is a good deal for council taxpayers.
Selling to a third party will not only allow the hotel to be completed as soon as possible, but also means that we will not have to incur the additional costs to complete the hotel. This is important at a time when we are facing huge financial pressures.
It remains our overriding priority to protect the investment made by the council so far and to see the hotel open as quickly as possible.
One of our recent success stories is the Family Hubs initiative which has just celebrated its first anniversary, having achieved a great deal. To celebrate the landmark, we specially opened one of the hubs this week to showcase how the facilities have positively affected on the lives of hundreds of families across Peterborough, offering ‘one-stop shops’ where they can access important services under one roof either online or in a building.
Since launching, the scheme has achieved a 139 per cent increase in footfall because of more services being provided and increased awareness. Staff delivered almost 25,000 face-to-face sessions in 2023-24, an increase of 17.5 per cent on the previous year, which is a phenomenal effort.
We’re extremely proud of the Family Hubs scheme which is playing a key role in our main aim of improving outcomes for children across Peterborough and I would like to thank everyone involved in this impressive initiative.
I’m a massive advocate for Peterborough and love seeing the city gain national attention, for the right reasons of course!
That’s why I’m delighted that a brand-new Peterborough version of the world’s most popular board game Monopoly is launching this week.
A first big reveal of the game takes place tomorrow (Friday) at the Weston Homes Stadium, home of Peterborough United, who appear on the board. Posh are joined by Peterborough Cathedral, the Peterborough Telegraph, Nene Valley Railway and many others.
A nice early Christmas present perhaps for friends and family who enjoy a good board game!
Finally, good luck to everyone taking part in the Great Eastern Run half marathon and Anna’s Hope 5K fun run on Sunday. It’s one of the city’s most popular and well-attended events, with thousands of people set to line the course and cheer on the runners, making for a fantastic community occasion.