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BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Five stories you might have missed this week in Peterborough
From big changes planned in retail to teenagers going bonkers for bingo, here are five stories from Peterborough you might have missed this week. Major retailer plans expansion Up to 50 new jobs would be created if plans to extend a Marks & Spencer store get City Council has received an application to build on land separating the existing branch and Tapi Carpets at Brotherhood Shopping proposed development comes a year after M&S shut its Queensgate store after nearly 60 years in the city centre. While former store site to be sold Elsewhere, the council said it hoped the former TK Maxx building on Bridge Street could be turned into a mixed residential and commercial City Council's cabinet members agreed to sell the building at a meeting on 15 July, as it was "no longer economically viable".It was bought by the local authority for £4.1m in 2020 with the aim of using it for a £15m community hub project known as The a feasibility commissioned by Tetra Tech in July 2022 said the cost of the necessary works was about £10.8m, making the project no longer viable. 'Game-changing' rail investment New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey.A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". Ancient site 'heartened' after arson attack The boss of an ancient site where a thatched roundhouse replica was razed to the ground by suspected arsonists said she had been "heartened" by the support of the crews were called to Peterborough's Flag Fen Archaeology Park, which dates back to the Bronze Age, on Sunday night after local people saw 2022, 30 volunteers had spent nine months building the Iron Age roundhouse and a fundraising appeal has now been launched to replace it."We're all absolutely devastated at the loss of the roundhouse - so many of our team took part in building it and using it every single day - it was a much-loved thing," said site manager Jacqueline Mooney. Teens go bonkers for bingo Two teenagers proclaimed that "bingo was not just for older people", as they turned their hand to the game in the last bingo centre in the Lonnen and Alesksa Svencika, both 18, said they always wanted to play bingo when they legally could and visited the Buzz Bingo hall in site has become Cambridgeshire's last dedicated bingo centre following the closure of Winners Bingo in National Bingo Game Association said a combination of the Covid pandemic, energy prices and the impact of the recent Budget on employment costs had "made it difficult for smaller independent bingo clubs to survive".But Dan Shuttleworth, the manager of Buzz Bingo, said the game was "evolving" and would "survive long into the future". The week in politics This week we found out auditors said there was a "significant" risk Peterborough City Council may not be repaid a loan it gave to a developer to build the Hilton authority borrowed the money from the government in 2017 and the hotel is still not finished. The situation will be discussed at a council meeting on the future of £1 bus fares for under-25s is also up for discussion. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority board, which involves the mayor and council leaders, is meeting on 22 July to discuss keeping bus fares reduced for young adults and children. Papers published this week said the authority wanted to keep the cheap fares for under-25s - but it could come at a price for other bus users. There were proposals to end the £2.50 fare cap for all bus users in Authority Mayor Paul Bristow has proposed to keep funding a rural bus route from Ramsey to Peterborough, via Whittlesey. However, it would come at the cost of other routes in the south of Cambridgeshire. It will be discussed at the same meeting as the £1 bus fares. The week in sport This week, Peterborough United beat Peterborough Sports 8-1 in a pre-season were 4-1 up at half time after a hat-trick from Bradley Ihionvien and a goal from Abraham Booth scored the only goal for the second half saw goals for Harley Mills, Kyrell Lisbie and a brace from Gustav Lindgren. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Hybrid locomotives aim to halve freight emissions
New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey. A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on Thursday. Once testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels elsewhere. They aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations sooner. John Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK." Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat homes. Jon Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail network. He said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country." The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased productivity. Pakes added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said. "I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More like this story Minister opens city's £5.75m rail maintenance hub Rail boss 'surprised and thrilled' at OBE award Related internet links GB Railfreight
