An affordable base for young professionals and growing families that's filled with possibilities
Peterborough is a fantastic place to live and work. We’re a base for growing families with over 40% of our population aged under 16. Land value has increased by around 40% since 2010 yet the house price to earnings ratio remains more affordable than many surrounding areas, and busy commuters can get to the centre of London in just 39 minutes – quicker than travelling from some of the capital’s suburbs! In fact, a recent study by CBRE ranked Peterborough as the most affordable London commuter town in 2020.
It’s not just physical connectivity that sets us apart. Our gigabit infrastructure is facilitating business innovation and making it easy for residents to work from home while collaborating with colleagues around the world.
17%
increase in resident earnings 2011-2019
25%
more affordable house price to earnings ratio than national average
1GB
lightning fast full-fibre internet across the city
Peterborough is home to some of the biggest industry names like British Sugar, Perkins Engines, URBN, and CITB, and with one of the highest business start-up rates in the country, lightning-fast connections have been paramount for success and ensuring continuity. It’s helping businesses innovate and optimise Industry 4.0 technologies, and we’re already honing the skills of our future engineers with specialist education facilities. Cross-sector innovation will become even more prevalent as the University of Peterborough opens in 2022.
As a smart city we’re always looking for ways to improve quality of life and testbeds are giving us data to improve air quality, living standards, and maintain safety.
Green Living
Residents get the best of both worlds in Peterborough. A busy city centre is just a 10 minute drive from Nene Park, a 1,750 acre green space that offers nature trails, watersports and outdoor fun for families.
Sustainable lifestyles are entrenched within the city. In May 2020, Peterborough had the most houses with solar panels on the roof of any city or town in the UK. The Peterborough Integrated Renewables Infrastructure (PIRI) project is underway which aims to deliver a significant drop in CO2 emissions by 2030, while cutting energy bills by up to a quarter. PIRI combines a next generation heat network, electricity network and electric vehicle infrastructure under one smart holistic scheme. If successful, the scheme could be rolled out to other cities and towns, to help the UK realise its ambitions of Net Zero by 2050.
Businesses are also trialling new, green transport solutions and incentives:
- Active Orbit launched in September 2020, which aims to help businesses find new customers who can trade in points – earned through active exercise – for rewards.
- From January 2021, the public will be able to hire e-bikes in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire as part of a venture by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) in collaboration with Voi Technology, the UK’s leading micro-mobility operator.
From blueprint to reality
Key housing developments at the Hamptons, the Ortons and Fengate, are meeting our growing population’s needs. Luxury riverside living at Fletton Quays has set the standard for our city centre regeneration plans; it’s already provided the new UK headquarters for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), a new base for Peterborough City Council, and will also bring a Hilton Hotel and gin distillery to the city centre.
£600 million
masterplans for the city centre
6.4%
housing stock growth 2013-2018, third highest in the UK
£206,126
Average house price (Rightmove)
Around our city centre, we’re aiming to develop mixed use sites to offer residential and commercial spaces that can also expand our retail and visitor offer. On top of Fletton Quays, there are seven more mixed use development opportunities within some of the busiest areas of Peterborough – there’s never been a better time to join our city!
Discover investment sites in our city centreNext Steps...
To find out more about what Peterborough has to offer, talk to Opportunity Peterborough
