Latest news with #StationQuarter
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.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Peterborough's Station Quarter: what does £65m project involve?
With promises it will transform a city centre and unlock regeneration in the area, plans for a new "Station Quarter" in Peterborough have been endorsed by the five years since a bid for funding towards the £65m project was submitted, works have yet to begin. What does the project involve and why is it taking so long? The area now Peterborough's railway station is about a 10-minute walk from the city centre, with the bus station and shops at Queensgate, Westgate and Cowgate on the other side of the busy Bourges Boulevard city council said the current route from the station was "not easy or welcoming" for people to navigate, calling it a "maze of narrow pavements, dark underpasses and pedestrian bridges".Cars approach the station towards its entrance on the east, meaning those driving from the west of the city would cross the Crescent Bridge to get there. What will the station look like? There will be a new western entrance to the station, which planners say will reduce journey times for 30% of users accessing the station from the will have a new junction, drop-off points and a multi-storey car inside of the station will be refurbished and reconfigured to make it easier to get existing station car park would be used to relocate the taxi rank, drop-off zone and accessible parking. What will change around the station? A new boulevard will direct pedestrians and cyclists between the railway station and the city. There will also be a landscaped pedestrian and cycle route leading towards Peterborough underpass at the Queensgate roundabout, which leads to Cowgate, will be removed and replaced with a pedestrian-cycle whole area will have more trees, vegetation and green space. How much will it cost? The total project is expected to cost £65m, with nearly £48m of this expected to come from the government's Levelling Up rest will come from Peterborough City Council's Towns Fund money, and other partners such as Network Rail. What has the reaction been? The project has generally been welcomed by local local businesses are hopeful it will improve footfall and help regenerate the Pakes, Labour MP for Peterborough, said securing funding for the project was one of his priorities, adding: "This project will bring jobs, investment and opportunities to the city."The Conservative mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said it was a "generational opportunity" for the city. Why is it taking years to begin? This is a multimillion-pound project involving a number of public and private bodies, and a bid for government initial search for investors began in early 2020, after the city council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Network Rail and LNER all joined 2023, they put together an outline business case to secure the Levelling Up money, which was approved in March 2024.A full business case for the project was finally approved in May 2025 – but the Treasury spending review in the summer will be the final hurdle before the money is available and work can begin. What happens now? That depends on what is announced in the next spending review, but the first phase of works are expected to begin in late autumn. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
