Latest news with #AndrewPakes
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Hopes for Peterborough station regeneration in Spending Review
A project to transform a city centre station and the area around it may be on the cusp of getting funds from the government for construction to Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spending Review, which will confirm how much money the government plans to invest in infrastructure are hopes that £48m of funding for a new Station Quarter in Peterborough will be approved, weeks after the government approved the city's MP, Andrew Pakes, said: "It shows what Peterborough can achieve when we work together." Pakes said he was "one of the most regular commuters" at the station, but thought the building was "sad and tired".He said: "It's not just about a new station building, it's about freeing up all this land around us so we can get some cafes, we can get some housing, we can get some business investment in the city as well." Peterborough City Council, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Network Rail and LNER have been working on the Station Quarter project for more than five estimate it will cost £65m to refurbish the existing station building and create new paths for pedestrians to get to the city centre more £48m expected to come from the government, which approved a full business case for the project in May, is needed before works can begin. Chris Skivington from Network Rail has been working on the plans for Station Quarter – and was hopeful about what could "really happen around this place".He said: "You're confronted with a sea of surface car parks as soon as you come out of the station."It's difficult to find your way around the city [with] a maze of underpasses and dark and dimly lit avenues and small streets."The plan is to refurbish the station by making it easier to navigate and building a new entrance to ease congestion around the building.A surface car park outside the station will be turned into a pedestrianised public area, with cafes, benches and green spaces, and a path that takes people to the city centre. Diane and Rod Walker were visiting Peterborough for the day and said they generally had a good impression of the city."I think it's nice," said Mrs Walker."It's clean, it's tidy you know," said Mr disagreed, however, over whether £65m should be spent on regenerating the station and its surroundings."There's so many other things needing attention in this country," said Mrs Walker said: "If it makes Peterborough, brings it up to date, I think it could be a good idea." Commuter Victoria Procter said the area around the station was "overwhelming" and welcomed the idea of improving it."I don't really go into the city itself, I wouldn't know where to start."If there was some path that led you in that would be really helpful," she said. Paul Bristow, the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and a former Peterborough MP, said people had been talking about city centre regeneration since he was a schoolboy."These things do take time," he said."If we can get the Station Quarter going it's the real catalyst to generate North Westgate, something we've been talking about since I was a kid."This is the first step."Works are set to begin in the autumn and construction is expected to take three years. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
10-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Labour MPs warn ‘rushed' assisted dying bill will put off voters
LABOUR MPs warn the controversial assisted dying bill will put off voters at the next General Election. They are worried the legislation is being rushed and key safeguards have been removed. And ministers will be appointing a death tsar to oversee changes just as voters return to the ballot box. Blair McDougall said it risks sending a 'confusing signal' when they want to talk about Labour's NHS improvements. Labour has singled out the health service as a key battleground in the fight against Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Mr McDougall, MP for East Renfrewshire, said: 'A concern I have picked up from MPs is a worry that the Government - even though they've been neutral on the issue - will be appointing officials responsible for death at the point we are fighting an election on whether the NHS is saving lives. 'It risks being an unhelpful story at a time when we are trying to tell a story about an NHS which is fit for saving peoples lives - thanks to the investment and reform we've put in.' Labour MP Andrew Pakes added: 'I was elected to improve the NHS, tackle the cost of living crisis and make life easier for people living in my constituency. 'My concern is that this bill has already taken up too much parliamentary time and become a distraction from many of the issues facing people.' Both MPs called for the bill to be ditched. 'In many ways I think it's become worse,' Mr McDougall added. 'You're seeing some of the safeguards eroded, we're seeing confirmation that things like anorexia would be within it and we're seeing fundamentals of the NHS being changed around this.' Peterborough MP Mr Pakes added: 'I'm worried that the bill is being watered down to a level that we are trying to make it easy for people to access this service. 'There is a fundamental difference between people having the right to take their lives and making it as easy as ordering something on Amazon.' 3 The bill, led by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, returns to the Commons this Friday when MPs will debate and likely vote on amendments. The next major vote on the whole bill is tipped for mid-June. In a letter to MPs on Friday, Ms Leadbeater said she listened very carefully to the views of colleagues and the Bill had been 'strengthened significantly'.
