Latest news with #Peterborough
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Council approves 149 homes after making amendments
A major new settlement south of a city has taken a small step forward following the approval of 149 new housing will form part of the wider Great Haddon development of 5,350 homes, which was approved by Peterborough City Council in site will also include a district shopping centre, three primary schools, one secondary school and other latest addition will see 149 new homes built on land north of Norman Cross, as part of the settlement's third phase. Outline permission had already been granted, but the next stage saw Vistry South East Midlands submitting an application for "reserved matters".That included details of the development's appearance, layout, landscaping and scale, according to the Local Democracy Reporting new homes will be a mixture of one to four bedrooms, with 24 of the properties being affordable City Council said in its decision document that the proposal "was not in accordance with local and national planning policy", but that it had worked with Vistry on amendments."The local planning authority has worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner based on seeking solutions."Amendments were discussed and agreed with the applicant to bring the proposal into compliance with policy, and the application can therefore be approved." Elsewhere in Great Haddon, construction of a 420-place primary school is due to begin in late summer and finish in September 2026, subject to planning permission being granted in May, the Hampton Academies Trust was appointed by the Department for Education to operate the new Helen Price, executive headteacher of the Hampton Academies Trust, said: "We are really looking forward to delivering a fantastic school for the new community of Great added: "From our many years of operating on the Hampton development, we understand how schools can put the heart and soul into new communities." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
I went to see Lucy Connolly in prison and what she told me about her treatment proves there is a two-tier justice system
I HEARD shocking allegations last week that Lucy Connolly – the mother slung in prison for a tweet during the Southport riots – was being badly mistreated inside. As an MP with special privileges, I was able to make a hastily-arranged visit to HMP Peterborough to speak to her for myself. 4 4 What she told me was deeply sinister, and has left me genuinely concerned that someone, somewhere, is trying to keep her locked up for longer. It has been almost a year since Lucy, in a moment of madness, posted on X urging her followers to 'set fire' to migrant hotels. The mum from Northampton was summarily banged up for 31 months with a conviction for inciting racial hatred and has had subsequent appeals chucked out. The whole point of justice is it has to have the confidence of the people it serves — to be decent, fair and equally applied. But while those who upset the 'Keir brigade' are locked up in jail, drug-dealing illegal migrants claim they can't be deported for ludicrous reasons. Ludicrous reasons It is clear confidence is rapidly disappearing down the plug hole, replaced by a genuine fear that we have moved to a two-tier justice system. And so it seems, too, with Lucy's experience in prison. Until last Thursday, she told me she basically had no complaints about her treatment apart from a few niggles. She had been told very clearly all along that, because she was a model prisoner, she was going to what was essentially the 'good girls wing'. Then suddenly she was informed that she would actually be incarcerated in the 'naughty girls wing' for the more violent inmates. Naturally, she was pretty upset with this and challenged the decision — and it was as she was making her case in the adjudication room she noticed lots of wardens gathering around her. It was on seeing the nurse hovering outside that she clocked something bad was about to happen, because a medic is always present whenever officers are preparing to use force. And sure enough, they jumped on her, flattened her on the floor, pushed her arms right behind her back and slapped on very tight handcuffs. She then described to me being bent over and dragged three flights of stairs to the naughty girls wing, where she was thrown in the cell for the rest of the day with no lunch or tea. 4 4 Why would they go from using the lightest form of restraint to the most severe in the blink of an eye? It's so inexplicable that I genuinely believe you have to think the unthinkable: they are trying to provoke a reaction to say she has got violent tendencies and deny early release. Or have they put her on a wing riddled with drugs, to plant some in her cell? I have demanded the head of security reviews all the bodycam footage to get to the bottom of what happened. There's a very, very bad potential there. I told Lucy: 'You've got to stay calm — don't allow yourself to be provoked.' She assured me that she had not reacted. Staying in prison for a second longer than she has to is not an option. Her situation is horrendous. She's got a desperately worried husband and a distressed daughter. But she is resilient. Shaken up — and with visible bruises — but resilient, and over our chat, she was completely lucid, rational and intelligent. Massive mistake We didn't spend much time raking over her tweet — she obviously feels it was a massive mistake she regrets. But when the inmates in her new wing asked what she was in for — and she replied 'a tweet' — they literally fell about laughing. Imagine: Violent, drug-taking women collapsing into laughter being told that someone had joined them because she'd sent a nasty tweet. Judgments like this are why I proposed 'Lucy's Law', so a sentence is triple-checked by a review commission if enough people object via a petition. The quantity of emails and messages I have received supporting this has been incredible — we have captured the public mood. It seems many judges took Starmer's speech after the Southport riots — hitting out at 'far-right thugs' — as an order to hand down extremely harsh sentences. I am also deeply concerned that legal aid lawyers deliberately and wrongly advised them all to plead guilty, saying they would get lighter sentences. That has proved a deception. I think the legal system at best has let itself down. At worst, it has been conspiratorial with the Prime Minister.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Peterborough summit kick-starts plans for new city swimming pool
A swimming club and a university principal joined politicians at a summit aimed at bringing a public pool back to a City Council hosted the event at its offices on Friday, after the government announced funding could be available for a new facility earlier this has been without an public indoor swimming pool for two years, and it is estimated building a new one could cost £ Jones, the council's Labour leader, said the summit was a chance for different people to "get round the table" and come up with a business case for a new facility. "It was heartening to feel the passion and enthusiasm in the room to deliver a new pool," he said. The government announced plans for a Peterborough Sports Quarter, complete with indoor swimming pool, in the recent spending review. In order to bid for a share of the new £240m Growth Mission Fund, which will be spent on local projects, a business case would need to be put Rachel Reeves said the quarter would form part of the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) campus in the city and "drive activity and community cohesion".Jones said the announcement had "fired the starting block in attracting the funding needed to deliver a new pool". The city's MPs Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling went to the summit, along with representatives from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and ARU were joined by the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, Friends of Peterborough Lido, and local charity, Living the Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire, whose constituency covers much of the south of the city, said: "We all want to see a new pool delivered for Peterborough."This matters to families, schools, clubs and communities."Morgan Stevenson, from the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, said he was excited by the "ambition and energy" from others in moving the project forward."We're fully committed to working in partnership with the wider group to help deliver the modern, inclusive aquatic facility that Peterborough truly deserves," he added. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
a day ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Nene Valley Railway to replace steam with diesel over hot weekend
A heritage railway has replaced its steam services for diesel for a second Nene Valley Railway (NVR) in Peterborough made the switch because of the hot weather and an increased risk of said sparks from its steam locomotives, either from the chimney or ashpan, could easily ignite dry grass and vegetation, especially when carried on the have also been made to protect crews as the temperature of the firebox of a steam locomotive can rise to more than 400C (752F). With the weather set to reach temperatures up to 30C, a NVR spokesperson said reducing its steam operations "helps us ensure safe working conditions for our teams".They added: "Due to the ongoing extremely hot and dry weather, our lineside fields and embankments are at an elevated risk of fire. "To help manage this risk, we're temporarily replacing some steam-hauled services with our heritage diesel locomotives. "These diesels pose no fire risk to the lineside, allowing us to continue safe and enjoyable operations."NVR said the Thomas Branch Line would still run at the weekend as it uses a smaller steam locomotive over a shorter section of line between Wansford and Yarwell, via Wansford Tunnel."The tunnel provides a cooler environment for our crews and reduces fire risk, making it ideal for operation in hot weather," the spokesperson added. "Additionally, due to Thomas's size and lighter workload, the physical demands on the crew—especially the fireman—are significantly lower."NVR is one of the UK's leading charity heritage railways. Last year it launched an urgent appeal to raise £300,000 to keep it running in the face of financial challenges, and has since raised £120,000. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Is writing on the wall for Peterborough nightlife scene?
A demolition notice is posted outside a boarded-up former late-night venue - but is the writing literally on the wall for a city's nightclubs?The venue on New Road, previously called The Bar, was once at the heart of Peterborough's nightlife now looks set to go the way of other venues before it, having being earmarked for demolition to make way for the multimillion-pound redevelopment of the city is a far cry from the glory days of the 1980s and 90s when, according to one observer of the city's nightlife scene, an estimated 6,000 people used to come clubbing in Peterborough on a typical weekend night. Pep Cipriano was "Man about Town" for local publication ESP Magazine, its chief columnist covering the city's nightlife recalls the "great atmosphere" of the 1990s."There were three major clubs, each with 2,000 capacity, and they were all full," he says."You dressed up to go out. It was a real occasion."Until the early 2000s, he says, there were at least six nightclubs, including Rinaldo's, Fifth Avenue, and Shanghai Sam's, which was later Quo Vadis and then Faith. Today, he says, there are two or three "traditional" nightclubs, with another two or three venues open after believes the growing influence of the internet has affected the traditional night on the town."The way you meet people has changed. The whole dynamic has changed," he says. Mr Cipriano is now chief executive of Peterborough Positive, the city's business improvement district (BID) Friday and Sunday, it is hosting three days of music and entertainment with the Glastonbury Weekender, including live-streaming the festival, in what he says is set to be "one of the biggest weekends of live music the city centre has seen in decades". Hannah Tinker worked with ESP Magazine to photograph people enjoying a night out."Back in the day there was a lot of variety, a lot of different types of music and it was very lively," she says."I feel sorry for the younger generation, as today many people just don't seem to have the funds." But where have all the clubbers gone? Peterborough law student Kelly Jesus says that, for some young people, clubbing does not hold the same appeal as it has done in the past."Clubbing can be quite expensive for a night out, especially if you compare it to a movie," she says."Sometimes you just want to have conversations with people and that can feel less superficial than dancing around, but everyone's different." Paul Stainton was a regular DJ in Peterborough but is now head of marketing and communications at the city's is staging an "Old Skool Disco" in its cloisters on Friday (June 27) and says there is still an appetite for people to get together and dance."I think young people miss out on having that fun," he says."It's also difficult for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s to find somewhere to go and have that fun again and relive their youth." In 2017, DJ and broadcaster Annie Mac came to the city to investigate a national downturn in clubbing for a BBC documentary, and discovered that venues were making way for new Thulbourn, Labour cabinet member for growth and regeneration on Peterborough City Council, says: "Whilst there is little we can do as a council to prevent privately-owned businesses such as nightclubs from closing down, there are planning policies in place designed to ensure the vitality of our city centre. "This is a similar pattern across the country because of several factors including changing economic conditions."However, our city centre still has thriving bars, clubs, restaurants and eateries." Peter Elderkin, another of the city's former DJs, and a former musician and music promoter, has written a memoir called Sugar Gravy is still positive about live venues, but says if they continue to close, it could affect the music industry."People can go online and have their channels and put their music out there but they won't get that live feedback - and you really need that live experience." Steve Jason, owner of the city's Met Lounge, which specialises in indie music, fears for the future of the traditional nightclub."In 1986 there were 36,000 nightclubs in the UK; now there's less than a thousand. It's only going one way," he changes and the internet have drastically affected the industry, he says, adding that it needs more young people and bands coming through to "inspire the next generation". Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
