'Regeneration plan should include the station itself'

A pressure group called for station upgrades to be included in a £65m regeneration project.

Railfuture UK discussed Peterborough's new station quarter at a meeting on Thursday, which will benefit from nearly £48m in government funding.

The group's East Anglia vice-chair, Peter Wakefield, said while the project was "exciting", it was "important" not to forget about the station itself.

Lewis Banks, who is overseeing the project for Peterborough City Council, said while the plans would "transform the city", in regards to platfrom improvements there were "no current plans" and the scheme was being looked at "from a regeneration perspective".

The project is expected to be completed in stages, and the first phase will see a new pedestrian and cycling route created between the station and the city centre, replacing an existing underpass at Cowgate.

Mr Banks said: "With this project, it is a lot of money, but we are doing a lot with it."

He continued: "At the moment, one of the issues is when you come out of the station, you are confronted with the Great Northern Hotel, and it is not very intuitive how to get into the city centre.

"So, a big change will be that the station entrance will shift south, and you will be guided via a direct footpath into the Queensgate roundabout.

"On the western side, there will be a new multi-story car park with 460 spaces and new footways."

He added that on the east side, a building would be refurbished.

Mr Wakefield acknowledged that development around the station made the environment for train users better, but added: "The money doesn't extend much to improve the actual station. It is difficult to navigate in some ways.

"Especially platform six and seven – there is no covered waiting area there.

"And in the longer term, we would like another station being built to serve people living north of the city. Finding space is a problem, but we need to make the railway more accessible."

Attendees at the meeting, held in Peterborough Museum, also raised questions about where services would be located in the new quarter.

Mr Banks said space had been "a major constraint" with the scheme.

"But we are still discussing that kind of detail at the moment - Where are taxis going? What happens about rail replacement buses?" he added.

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