Welcome To This Weeks Spotlight - What Would Bring You Back? |
Peterborough city centre gets plenty of criticism.
Some of it deserved. But this week we’re more interested in the other question: what would actually make you spend more time there?
Better shops?
More places to eat?
Easier parking?
Events?
A decent night out?
This issue has a few clues — and probably a few things you’ll disagree with too.
Any way let get going ... |
The Sir Henry Royce on Broadway has been closed since February, but a licence transfer application from Amber Taverns has raised the prospect of the Peterborough city-centre pub reopening. Read More... |
You can fix ONE thing in Peterborough city centre tomorrow. What are you choosing? |
Better shops · Easier parking · More events · Fewer empty units · Better places to eat and drink · Something else?
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Peterborough City Market may be smaller than many residents remember, but its current mix of food, independent traders and plans for specialist markets could give the city centre something it badly needs: reasons to browse rather than simply get in and get out. Read More... |
For one Peterborough saver, £20,000 could take nearly three years. For another, it could take more than eight. We break down three monthly saving plans using the city’s latest first-time-buyer price, then look at the fees, tax rules and shared-ownership details that sit around the deposit. It is a clearer way to work out what buying might actually require. Read More... |
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Peterborough families could cut September costs by checking the city’s free Second Chance School Uniform Shop, comparing supermarket basics and avoiding unnecessary branded items. Sally also looks at a current Morrisons discount and the new September 2026 rules limiting compulsory branded uniform. Read More... |
One-Minute Home Win |
Before autumn starts costing money, take five minutes and find your last energy bill.
Check the tariff end date, current monthly payment and whether you’re sitting on a big credit balance.
You don’t need to switch anything today.
Just knowing those three numbers makes it much harder to sleepwalk into an expensive winter. |
Nene Park Trust’s revised Lakeside Activity Centre plans would bring indoor climbing, a children’s play area, a small gym, café and accessible changing facilities to Ferry Meadows. The smaller, lower scheme is still awaiting planning approval and further funding. We look at who it could serve, what is already in place at the old Lakeside car park and why the real test will be getting people to come back. Read More... |
Headline |
School holidays ending doesn’t just change the family routine the dog notices too.
If somebody has been around the house most of the summer, don’t suddenly go from company all day to hours alone.
Start putting the normal routine back a little at a time now.
A few short periods apart can make September considerably less dramatic for everyone including the neighbours.
If you like to get more help and advice from Raimonda you can register for the pre launch of the Smarter Paws Hub (digital) which has tons of free content to help get your four legged friend on the right track. Just click the button below and we will sign you up.
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Two free Peterborough Family Hubs events are still coming up this August, including circus activities at Woodfield Park and an end-of-summer family festival. Read More... |
A free prostate screening day is planned for St Neots on 5 September 2026, and Peterborough-area men may be able to apply. We explain who fits the published rules, where the event is, what the PSA and examination involve, why places are not guaranteed and what may happen if the results need checking. Read More... |
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Community Corner: Could Your Business Help Keep A Peterborough Family Out Of Crisis? |
Mary’s Child does far more than hand out food parcels.
From its Peterborough base in Orton Goldhay, the charity helps local families with practical support including food and essentials, welfare-benefit problems, housing and family-law advice, pastoral support and help through difficult situations.
It also runs community cafés in Orton Goldhay and Stanground, giving people somewhere to turn before a problem becomes a full-blown crisis.
And that is where local businesses can make a real difference.
Mary’s Child is looking for more Peterborough companies willing to support the work not just by writing a cheque, but through practical help, sponsorship, volunteering and longer-term partnerships.
For a local business, that could mean helping fund services families are already using, getting staff involved in community projects, or backing something tangible that makes a difference close to home.
This is not some distant national appeal.
It is Peterborough families getting help with things like food, benefits, housing problems and the everyday pressures that can quickly become overwhelming.
If your business has been looking for a local cause where you can actually see the difference your support makes, Mary’s Child would like to hear from you.
CTA: Discover How Your Business Can Help
Contact:
This gives Mary’s Child a proper Community life-lane presence while also doing the commercial job they wanted from Spotlight:getting in front of Peterborough businesses that could support them. |
Leisure & Co Hotel Ltd has bought Peterborough’s unfinished Fletton Quays hotel and plans to complete it as a Hilton Garden Inn by summer 2027. We look at what has changed, why the sale matters after years of delays and what the finished hotel could add to Peterborough’s waterfront. Read More... |
Headline |
Job description: walk around Peterborough asking one question
“Would anyone actually leave the house for this?”
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Peterborough is spending £1.5 million on relatively unglamorous city-centre improvements including toilets, seating, greenery and market stalls.
Could fixing the everyday annoyances be just as important as another landmark project? Read More... |
The monthly rent is only part of the decision. This Peterborough-focused checklist covers damp and repairs, bills, deposits, safety records, tenancy terms and local property licensing.
It also points renters towards Peterborough City Council’s housing advice and standards contacts, so you know what to ask before signing and where to turn if something is not right. Read More... |
Headline |
Looking for work? Don’t just search for a job title.
Set a second alert using the skill you actually have bookkeeping, welding, customer service, HGV, care, admin, sales, whatever it is plus Peterborough and the distance you’re prepared to travel.
Employers don’t always call the same job the same thing.
A different search can uncover jobs your usual alert never shows you. |
Peterborough could gain more control over betting shops, vape stores and adult gaming centres.
But the powers are not all active yet, and fewer gambling-related premises would not automatically bring back footfall.
We look at the local planning decisions already made, recent vape enforcement and the bigger test: what would replace these businesses and give people a reason to stay in the city centre?
Read More... |
Peterborough allows street trading in the city centre throughout the year. For somebody with a retail or food idea, testing it from a stall could be a very different first step from taking on a conventional shop. Read More... |
What does Peterborough need more of: another big-name chain or 20 small independents? |
There’s probably room for both — but if you had £1 million to spend getting people back into town, where would you put it?
Tell us what you’d actually open. |
Peterborough’s weekday-after-3pm free-parking trial gives drivers a cheaper way into the city centre, but it doesn’t make every car park free or every attraction open late.
This guide explains the four participating council car parks, flags the signage trap near Brook Street and sets out two realistic short-visit plans around Car Haven, the market, Cathedral Square, the cathedral and the museum. Read More... |
Worth The Trip? The Embankment Test |
Here’s a simple one for the weekend: take a walk around the Embankment and look at it as though you’d never seen Peterborough before.
What would make you come back?
More events? Food? Sport? Better use of the river? Somewhere good to sit with a drink?
Sometimes walking it gives you a better answer than another consultation document. |
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Final Thoughts For This Week ... |
That’s your Peterborough lot for this week.
If one story made you laugh, argue, save some money or discover something you didn’t know, send this issue to one person who’d enjoy it too.
The best Spotlight stories often start with somebody saying:
“Have you seen this?” |