Statement from Paul Bristow in response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Comprehensive Spending Review

Paul Bristow, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has responded to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Comprehensive Spending Review today (Wednesday, 11th June 2025). He said: 

“Just over five weeks ago, residents in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough elected me to be their Mayor – on a clear mandate to get our region moving and deliver a new community stadium for Peterborough. That means a new home for Peterborough United but also a top class venue for other major sporting events and music concerts. This will attract visitors from across the UK, reignite our long-lost music scene and nightlife, and provide a much-needed swimming pool for local people. 

“If today’s announcement from Government helps deliver this, then this is to be welcomed. But at this stage, it raises more questions than answers. While funding has been allocated to a national scheme, there is no clarity yet on how much – if any – of this will be allocated to Peterborough, nor is there a plan for delivery or an explanation of how this will enable the city’s vision for a game-changing community stadium. A Sports Quarter has to be properly thought through. It needs to be more than a commitment to consider a business case that Peterborough City Council may or may not write. 

“Transformational projects like this are the reason devolved Mayors were established. Government have pledged to empower Mayors and back further devolution.  I expect that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will be a key player in the delivery of a proper Sports Quarter for Peterborough that includes a Community Stadium. 

“There was silence today on critical upgrades like Ely Junction and the Peterborough Station Quarter. These projects are essential to unlocking growth, jobs, and investment across our region. 

“I’ll keep pushing. If Government is serious about supporting economic growth in all parts of the country, that commitment must include the East of England.”