
Peterborough councillor calls for Werrington centre investment
A company named Gujjar Investments Ltd submitted two separate plans to Peterborough City Council for the Werrington Centre - one for a taxi office next to the vacant Ploughman pub and the other to turn the pub itself into a sports bars and three shops.Both were rejected on the grounds of noise and traffic concerns.
Fox, deputy leader of the Independent group, said: "To me, none of it made sense and the taxi office would've caused little rat runs."I've been a councillor now for 23 years.. and if they just came and spoke to us and Werrington Neighbourhood Council we could've liaised with them and saved them time and effort."If you look at the centres in Orton and Bretton compared to Werrington, we were left behind."The Ploughman pub closed in early 2024 and has since been sold and gutted.Fox added: "You've got to protect what you've got and improve with what you haven't got."Earlier this year, a former landlord of the pub, Andy Simmons, expressed serious concerns about the future of the Werrington Centre in the wake of the pub's closure.Gujjar Investments Ltd has been approached for comment.
Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Watchdog appoints interim managers for troubled charity linked to Carrie Johnson
A watchdog has appointed interim managers to take over the running of an animal charity linked to Boris Johnson's wife. The Aspinall Foundation is facing an investigation by the Charity Commission after it raised 'serious concerns' about the charity's 'governance and financial management'. Founded in 1984, it runs breeding sanctuaries for endangered animals as well as operating the Howletts and Port Lympne animal parks in Kent, which were set up by gambling club host and animal enthusiast John Aspinall. Carrie Johnson was appointed head of communications for the foundation in 2021. The same year, it emerged that the charity paid more than £150,000 to the wife of the chairman of the trustees for 'interior design services'. The Charity Commission's interim managers – appointed in May this year – will also review whether any trustees or their family members have received any benefit from the charity. A spokesperson for the regulator said: 'Our inquiry into The Aspinall Foundation is ongoing. 'Towards the end of last year, fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation and our investigators are working hard to pursue these at pace. 'The Commission has now appointed interim managers to The Aspinall Foundation who will work alongside the existing trustees on specific areas in line with the charity's governing document.'


The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Yvette Cooper's fast-track asylum plan revealed after protests across UK
The Home Secretary plans to introduce a fast-track scheme to tackle the asylum backlog that aims to turn around decisions within weeks. Yvette Cooper said Labour was planning a 'major overhaul' of the appeal process in the hope it would help to make a significant dent in the numbers. 'We need a major overhaul of the appeal [process] and that's what we are going to do in the autumn… If we speed up the decision-making appeal system and also then keep increasing returns, we hope to be able to make quite a big reduction in the overall numbers in the asylum system, because that is the best way to actually restore order and control,' Ms Cooper told The Sunday Times. The aim would be to compress the process so decisions and returns could happen 'within weeks', the newspaper reported, citing a source familiar with the plans. The Government faces pressure to cut how many asylum seekers are housed in hotels while awaiting the outcome of a claim or appeal. The Home Secretary has previously said she was eager to put a fast-track system for decisions and appeals in place so that people from countries considered safe would not sit in the asylum system for a long time. 'We should be able to take those decisions really fast, be able to take those decisions, make sure that they go through the appeals system really fast and then also make sure they are returned really quickly as well,' she told the Home Affairs committee in June. 'That would mean a fast-track system alongside the main asylum system, I think that would be really important in terms of making sure that the system is fair. 'That will require legislation in order to be able to do that, as well as a new system design.' The Government is also seeking to reduce the number of Channel crossings. More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in small boats this year so far. Tensions over asylum hotels have flared up in recent weeks, with a protest and counter-protest taking place on Saturday outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in north London, and also in Newcastle. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament. Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently. They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations.


The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
People smugglers who advertise Channel crossings or fake passports online face five years in prison under crackdown
PEOPLE smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prison, under a new crackdown. The Home Office is scrambling to beef up their laws after a record 25,000 illegal migrants landed on Britain's beaches so far this year. 2 The grim milestone piles massive pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper - who has vowed to 'smash the gangs' and stop the boats. But the Government has been accused of woefully failing to restore control to UK borders. Ministers will introduce a new criminal offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament. This will make it a crime to publish material which promotes breaking immigration laws - like flogging small boat crossings, dodgy passports and visas or promising black market work. These things are already illegal, but ministers say the new law will help beef up the power of the cops and prosecutors. Anyone caught flouting the law faces five years behind bars or a massive fine. Ms Cooper said: 'Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral. 'These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate. 'We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs.' A staggering 80 per cent of migrants arriving on small boats used social media sites like TikTok to plan their journey, according to the Home Office. Small boat migrant found dead riddled with bullets on French coast after being gunned down 'by people smugglers' 2