Locals say this UK city is ‘dismal’ — millions are being spent to revive it

Peterborough has often been named as one of the ‘worst’ places to live in the UK (Picture: Paul Marriott/Shutterstock)

The UK is home to some spectacular cities – everywhere from Edinburgh to Norwich and York. 

But several spots, such as Peterborough, have garnered a more negative reputation.

The cathedral city in Cambridgeshire has a bit of a dark cloud hanging over it, with locals claiming on social media that it was ‘incredible’ in the 70s and 80s, but now has an ‘atmosphere of misery’ and is ‘dismal’.

Just 48 minutes from London, it’s one of the cheapest locations for commuters to move to, but it regularly tops lists of the ‘worst’ places to live in the UK.

Many cite the decline of the high street as one of the city’s big issues. Peterborough was dealt a devastating blow when the John Lewis store closed permanently in 2021, and M&S was lost in 2024. Others claim there’s little to do in the city and it feels ‘dead’ as a result.

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However, some exciting projects are in the works that could help revive the city, give it a bit of a makeover and restore some of its former glory.

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The station and surrounding area will be made more welcoming (Picture: Shutterstock / Peter Moulton)

Several improvements are going to be made, starting with £65 million being spent on Station Quarter.  

The project, which is being delivered by Peterborough City Council in partnership with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), Network Rail, Platform4, and LNER, will transform the area between Peterborough railway station and the city centre to make it more welcoming. 

As part of this, a new ‘City Link’ walkway will be built to provide ‘safe’ direct access between the station and Cowgate for pedestrians and cyclists, to remove the need to use the current ‘dark’ underpasses.

The station will become easier to navigate, with a reconfigured layout, new entrances, and a multi-storey car park. The current car park is expected to be replaced by a new pedestrianised square, taxi rank, drop-off point and accessible parking.

Residents say it was an incredible place to live in the 70s and 80s (Picture: Shutterstock / Peter Moulton)

A new £36 million swimming pool and leisure centre is also being built as part of a new Embankment programme. 

Located to the south of the university, it will feature a new 25m swimming pool with eight lanes, a 20m activity pool, a café, fitness suite, soft play, and more.

The programme could also see a new state-of-the-art youth centre built close to the lido. Proposals for this are currently being developed with youth charity OnSide, which states the space would be designed specifically for young people aged 8 to 19, or up to 25, for those with disabilities or additional needs. 

In July, it was revealed that the purpose-built Youth Zone would cost £13 million, and £410,000 worth of council funding is needed to progress with designs for it.

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The cathedral city of Peterborough has great bones. Peterborough was once a market town, its cathedral formerly St Peter’s Abbey. The fabric of the old town has been gradually destroyed since the Industrial Revolution. The arrival of the railways brought industrialisation, along with the insensitive architecture of the Victorian and Edwardian eras — marked by a disregard for local building materials and the introduction of “copy-and-paste” red-brick buildings. These replaced the historic structures of local limestone and vernacular timber framing that once enclosed the market square. In the 1960s, the ancient town was designated a “New Town”, leading to the construction of housing estates and high-rises that encroach upon the historic centre. Since then, the lack of respect for Peterborough’s heritage has continued. The historic market was relocated from its original square to a site on the outskirts of the city centre. The square has been “revamped” with cold, generic paving stones that ignore the area’s character and local materials. Today, the market square merely hosts fast food chains such as Wingstop, Nando’s, and McDonald’s, alongside several vape shops and American coffee shops. See how Peterborough once looked — before corporate greed and poor city planning took hold. city medieval history uk britian

♬ Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread) – Lesley Gore

An estimated £8.3 million worth of work is also being carried out to create the new Cygnet Bridge over the River Nene in Peterborough. This will give pedestrians and cyclists a direct route between Fletton Quays, the Embankment, and the city centre. 

And Peterborough is also getting up to £40 million of funding from the Government’s Pride in Place programme to help regenerate the city.

This money will be divided between the areas of Orton Malborne, Orton Goldhay, Paston, Gunthorpe, and Welland, and will be used to invest and improve community services such as education, health, and employment.

The Government has also awarded £13 million to Peterborough from its Towns Fund for The Vine Project, to refurbish the Central Library and create two other spaces – a flexible workspace for small businesses and an education and community space.

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As well as local improvements, retail giant Amazon has announced it’ll be opening a new £107 million distribution centre in Peterborough in September, creating 1,400 new jobs in the city. 

Speaking about these changes, Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said the city had been ‘underrated’ for too long, and they were going to show off their ‘best side’ to the world.

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He told The Daily Express: ‘Despite a tough economic outlook, we are getting investment into the city, and that will help put money back into people’s wallets and purses.

‘We’ve certainly got some challenges as a city that is seeking to rebuild itself. Sadly, we’re not going to be able to turn the clock back to before the days of internet shopping, and we’re not going to bring John Lewis back. But we’ve got a huge amount going for us.’

And Andrew could be right about the impact the projects will have, as earlier this year Peterborough was named as the UK’s fifth fastest-growing city.

Job growth was up 23.9% from 2014 to 2024, and population growth over the same period rose to 14.2%, which is twice the national average.

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