11:37 Thursday 19th March 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: We’ve also been talking this morning about this what could be a fantastic proposal for North Westgate in Peterborough. It’s been on the cards developing that area of the city centre for years and years and years and years. And some of the proposals, well there’s going to be a new cinema in the complex, £100 million leisure-led development, which would be bounded by Queensgate on one side Bourges Boulevard on the other Lincoln Road and Westgate. Expected once planning goes in in the summer work will start on it early next year, and it should be completed by 2017/2018. You also get a new public square. There will be some housing there. There’ll be a hotel and loads of eateries as well. But it also involves knocking down around ten or fifteen houses on Cromwell Road. Well Johnny D. has been to visit Cromwell Road this morning to see what it’s like and to see what one resident thinks of having to lose her house.
(OB)
JOHN DEVINE: Paul I’m on Westgate now in Peterborough. Just opposite me is the Peterborough bus station. A couple of buses coming out right now as we speak. If I turn round there’s John Lewis over the way, there’s the multi-storey car park with the Queensgate centre in front of me. And on my right I can see the Brewery Tap public house on the top of the junction there, which of course is staying. But the few houses on Cromwell Road where I am now, just bearing right Paul, I’m in Cromwell Road right now. And it does look a bit of a deprived area to tell the truth. A bit of an eyesore, some of these buildings, because some of them are half-demolished already by the looks of it. Some are boarded up. But it’s almost like a Coronation Street effect, all terraced housing. I’m going to attempt to knock on a couple of doors to see if I can get any reaction from locals who may be losing their homes.(KNOCKS) Hello.
RESIDENT: Hello.
JOHN DEVINE: I’m sorry to bother you. My name is Johnny from BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. How are you?
RESIDENT: I’m fine thank you.
JOHN DEVINE: Do you mind me asking you, you live in this house ..
RESIDENT: Yes. Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: Yes. And who owns the house?
RESIDENT: It’s my mother-in-law’s house. And we live with her.
JOHN DEVINE: And you’re on Cromwell Road.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: There’s going to be a new development called North Westgate going up soon.
RESIDENT: (UNCLEAR) .. twenty four years. (LAUGHS)
JOHN DEVINE: You’ve been here for twenty four years.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: And you’ve heard talk of this happening.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: But now it’s going to happen, isn’t it?
RESIDENT: We had a letter yesterday about this plan, Westgate development plans.
JOHN DEVINE: You’ve had notification through the post.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: In a letter.
RESIDENT: Yes. Yesterday.
JOHN DEVINE: I think the upshot is this house and all these houses along here will be demolished.
RESIDENT: Yes. They are (to be) demolished.
JOHN DEVINE: Knocked to the ground.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: And you’ve been here for twenty four years. How do you feel about that?
RESIDENT: I’m happy because everything (is) close to us, this shopping centre.
JOHN DEVINE: You said about the parking earlier on, didn’t you?
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: It’s a bit of a pain.
RESIDENT: Yes. Pain.
JOHN DEVINE: You can’t park very well outside your house.
RESIDENT: Went out. When you come back you can’t find parking place.
JOHN DEVINE: There’s no spaces for you.
RESIDENT: Yes.
JOHN DEVINE: So do you mind me asking you, the Council will be paying you some money, then you’re going to move. Is that right?
RESIDENT: If they’re going tp pay us good money we can buy another house. Then we can sell it.
JOHN DEVINE: Oh right. So do you know how much at all?
RESIDENT: They offered us in 1989 £92,000.
JOHN DEVINE: Right.
RESIDENT: The opposite side is demolished. They made it a car park.
JOHN DEVINE: So where will you go to? Do you know yet?
RESIDENT: Not yet. (LAUGHS)
(STUDIO)
PAUL STAINTON: That’s one of the residents (who would be) affected by the new North Westgate development. When it’s built they’ll be knocking down ten or fifteen houses in and around that area of Peterborough. That lady’s already had a letter as well.
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