Peterborough is a dramaitically developing area and so a great place to live and also for people wishing to invest in properties. The following is a short summary of the developments which are underway.

Retail Development

A huge £450 million investment is set to start in 2009 following the submission of a planning application for the North Westgate development in the city centre. The scheme will include  a multi-screen cinema, 60 shops including a new department store, several restaurants and 100 new homes.

Meanwhile, a major upgrade is planned for the adjacent Queensgate shopping centre.

Massive new Matalan and B&Q stores have recently opened in the ‘retail warehouse’ development alongside Bourges Boulevard and plans have been submitted for a £50 million extension of the Brotherhood Retail Park on Lincoln Road.

City council figures show that more retail developments then ever before are taking place across the city, with over 9,000 square metres of new space in shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants opened in Peterborough during 2006/7.

House Building

In 2006/7 with 1,265 properties were constructed – 47 per cent up on 2005/06 ¬ an 18-year high.

Over the past few years 2000+ homes have been created in Hampton,  which will eventually provide 7,300 homes for 18,000 people. A multi-million pound joint service centre is to be constructed in Hampton which will include a library, café, meeting rooms, a church, sports and health care facilities. Work has begun on building 550 homes at Potter’s Way in Fengate. In the first stage of the scheme, developer Bellwinch Homes is putting up 261 apartments.

Meanwhile, around 1,500 new homes are set to be built at Stanground and 1,200 at Paston. A development of 900 new homes at Woodston is well on the way to completion.

Carbon Challenge

Peterborough is to become the country’s second zero carbon community in its Carbon Challenge. The first step being 450 environmentally sustainable homes at South Bank Phase 1 (Glebe Road).

The Carbon Challenge is an opportunity for developers to gain experience of building to the highest level of the government`s Code for Sustainable Homes. It calls on developers to demonstrate that zero carbon homes, combined with cutting-edge building design and technology, are economically viable on a commercial scale.

It is the focus of significant central government interest and will significantly raise the profile of Peterborough in this area.

Education

There has been massive recent investment in secondary, further and higher education facilities in the city.

Funding of £10 million for a new Anglia Ruskin University campus close to the city centre has been agreed and there are plans for a £75 million redevelopment of Peterborough Regional College.

The government has committed £100 million to fund the building of new schools in Peterborough, including the new £46 million Thomas Deacon Academy  which opened in September 2007. A private finance initiative (PFI) worth £68 million has been used to build another new school – The Voyager – north-west of the city which also opened in September 2007.

New £10.5 million sports facilities at Jack Hunt School were officially opened in September 2007 and there is extension and refurbishment work being undertaken at Ken Stimpson Community School and The King’s School.