When I became Council Leader last May I said that I wanted to build social infrastructure in the city, which put simply means supporting people to take pride in where they live.
For me, it is as important as the physical infrastructure we create, such as building roads and schools.
If we all take pride in where we live it leads to more attractive communities which are clean and tidy, better support for one another from our neighbours, and a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction for us all.
Fly-tipping and littering are issues that we could solve if everyone had greater pride in the city.
It’s a real bugbear of mine, and from a council perspective, the problems associated with it are highly frustrating. Afterall, it’s not the authority committing offences, but we are responsible for clearing up waste on public land and spend a huge amount of money doing this.
We are actively working to tackle the problem, having invested in new cameras in hotspot locations, setting up a cross-party task and finish group and increasing Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping offences to the maximum amount. Our officers also work with communities and schools to teach people about correct recycling and waste disposal.
Later this month, we’re encouraging everyone to get involved in a campaign of action to highlight the problems associated with littering around Peterborough. As part of the Great British Spring Clean taking place between March 21 and April 6, the council and the Peterborough Litter Wombles are holding organised litter picks across the city, I am deeply grateful to them.
I hope the litter picks will highlight the positive work carried out by the council and voluntary groups to tackle the problem, as well as encouraging more people to get rid of litter correctly.
We will be promoting the dates, times and locations for the litter picks on our social media channels and website shortly, so look out for this. Admission will be free and all equipment including high-vis jackets and litter pickers will be provided.
This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to come together and clean up litter around the city, so if you can spare a bit of time please join in, either as an individual, a group or as a business or school.
At Full Council next week members will be asked to consider the latest, and final, report from our Independent Improvement and Assurance Panel.
You may recall that the panel, made up of some of the most experienced officers in local government, started working with the council in late 2021 to support our improvement journey.
At the end of March we will part ways, with the panel believing that we can go it alone, so to speak.
This is positive news, but we also know that there is much hard work ahead to be able to manage our finances and transform our services so that we can achieve financial sustainability.
In this final report from the panel, they pull no punches when it comes to our members, in particular in relation to the recent budget setting meeting where 18 councillors voted against the budget and 13 chose to abstain from voting.
The panel rightly points out that much of what was said by members at the meeting did not reflect the shared commitment to the budget that had been developed through cross party working over many months in the Financial Sustainability Working Group, and that many members spoke against the budget without offering any alternatives or acknowledging that they had had many opportunities to do so in the preceding months.
I couldn't agree more - every member in that meeting had ample opportunities in the past year to influence the budget and put forward their own ideas. They chose not to and instead attempt to derail the budget at the last minute.
Like the panel, I call for all members of the council to work together in the best interests of the city. We may all come from different political backgrounds, but what unifies us is our desire to do the best for our residents and our city. Let's prove that from hereon in and make political point scoring a thing of the past. Dare I suggest that we actually do put Peterborough first – and mean it?
I’ve spoken recently of big decisions facing our members and another one is just around the corner, following publication of our Draft Local Plan this week.
At next week’s Cabinet meeting, members will be asked to approve the plan for public consultation which is expected to run from 11 April until 29 May.
The emerging plan will eventually replace the current Local Plan, which was adopted in July 2019 and will outline how our area develops in future. Essentially, it is a key guide for determining planning applications.
As one of the country’s fastest growing cities, it’s vital that we plan well for our future generations, providing space for people to live and work, raise families and contribute to the local economy and the Local Plan will play a key role in this.
Finally, we’ve seen some fantastic exhibitions taking place in Peterborough in recent years and that trend is continuing with a major event set to delight science fiction fans.
If like me you grew up hiding behind the sofa watching Dr Who, which was in black and white back in my day of course, then make a date to visit ‘Adventures in Time and Space’ which will open at Peterborough Museum on May 3 and run until November 2.
It will feature one of the largest displays of both restored and surviving props from the Doctor Who series for over a decade, meticulously brought back to life by collectors and special effects technicians.
I recently joined city MP Andrew Pakes and Cllr Anna Smith, the CPCA’s Deputy Mayor, in having the pleasure (or should that be pain) in meeting one of the daleks at the museum for a special preview and I can’t wait to visit the exhibition once it opens.