The booming UK city of Peterborough is to host both a new university and major sports centre in the coming years, attracting thousands of students and generating hundreds of jobs.
The University of Peterborough plans to launch in 2022 with an intake of 2000 students in three faculties, focusing on business, innovative entrepreneurship and professional services. It will provide training and skills to suit existing employers in the region, creating a ‘pipeline of future employees’ according to the Mayor of Peterborough James Palmer. “Peterborough has seen rapid expansion in both population and employment levels in recent years,” he added, producing a need for additional expertise and training.
The college will mix campus learning with industrial placements and remote learning, centring on health and social care, engineering and advanced manufacturing. By 2030 it expects to have as many as 12,500 students.
A new leisure centre at Werrington, in the northern district of Peterborough, is now in development. Plans include a 25m swimming pool, an indoor sports hall, sports courts, fitness studios and a full size floodlit 3G football pitch.
Local communities celebrated the news after councillor Steve Allen announced that, after some years of discussion, “the project is definitely on”. He added: “We want something a lot more ambitious for the residents of the north of the city.”
GRE Assets has a major residential development at Nene Wharf in Peterborough
