The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
We need more Nigels!
Nigel Thornton, that proud Yorkshireman, displays a fine mixture of downto-earth pragmatism and guarded optimism.
In last week’s article entitled ‘Proud to live in Peterborough … and more of us should be’, he scratches his head and wonders where the negativity about Peterborough comes from. Sadly this flatland (some would say ‘flat earth’) pessimism is increasingly prevalent. If dear old Posh were to be 4-0 up at half time, some punters would grumble, “why ain’t we scored five.”
Over the past couple of years, in my role with the civic society, I have spoken to about 50 groups in and around the city and clear patterns are emerging. Since the closure of John Lewis’s store fewer people are venturing into the city centre. Lockdown and increased reliance on online shopping are largely responsible.
Then again perhaps this is a trend that has been developing since the 1970s. The Development Corporation built townships that could be self-sufficient, in particular Bretton and Orton. In the 2020s Hampton is following the same pattern, giving residents little reason to visit the city centre. Perhaps we place too much emphasis on our city centre.
Nigel is quite right not to ‘trot out a list of good things about Peterborough’, What’s the point? We all know what they are, repeating them ad infinitum doesn’t help. But what we could do with a lot more of is city-wide vision and future planning. I might not agree with some of what Cllr Fitzgerald, the leader of our city council, says or does. But the fact is that I don’t envy his task – trying to run a city against the backdrop of national government complacency and continuing financial strictures must be souldestroying. However, that should not prevent us from
working together to create a better climate of ‘can-do’ optimism.
Perhaps we in Peterborough have overlooked and underestimated the one thing we’re good at – change. Over the past hundred years Peterborough has brought us Perkins Engines, Baker Perkins, Brotherhoods, British Railways, London Brick, Thomas Cook, Pearl Assurance, Sodastream, Ikea and Amazon.