TRANSFORMATION

OLD TOWN QUARTER REGENERATION

From public realm improvements to community-led change, Lincoln Road is part of a wider effort to strengthen one of Peterborough’s most vibrant and multicultural quarters.

Peterborough’s ambition for UK City of Culture 2029 is to create a lasting shift in how culture is experienced, valued and shaped across the city.

Over the course of the programme, culture will move from something that is occasionally encountered to something that is more visible, more shared and more confidently owned by residents in everyday life.

Participation sits at the heart of this transformation.

Cultural activity in Peterborough is widespread, but engagement has not always been evenly distributed across neighbourhoods or communities. The 2029 programme seeks to broaden who takes part in cultural life, with a particular focus on young people and those who have historically been less visible within formal cultural settings.

Recent education-led visioning has highlighted a strong desire among young people for more regular and visible cultural activity, alongside the importance of informal spaces such as parks, public places and community hubs in supporting creativity and wellbeing. The programme responds directly to those aspirations and will continue to evolve through ongoing learning and feedback.

Transformation is also about confidence and pride.

Peterborough is often defined externally by outdated or incomplete narratives that do not reflect residents’ lived experience of a diverse, creative and welcoming city. By enabling communities to shape and share their own stories, and by increasing the presence of culture in public and shared spaces, the programme will help bring the city’s external profile closer to its internal reality.

This is not about rebranding alone. It is about strengthening a shared sense of belonging and civic identity, grounded in everyday life and lived experience.

Lasting change depends on how culture is sustained.

Learning from previous UK Cities of Culture has shown that short-term intensity does not always translate into long-term benefit. Peterborough’s approach therefore prioritises year-round cultural activity, neighbourhood-led practice and collaboration across sectors.

By focusing on relationships, skills and local leadership, and by adapting through learning as the programme develops, the city aims to build cultural confidence that endures well beyond 2029.

Culture also plays a role in wellbeing and place.

Culture in Peterborough is understood as a contributor to mental health, social connection and quality of life, particularly for young people. By embedding cultural activity within everyday environments and aligning it with wider civic priorities, the programme aims to support healthier, more connected communities across the city.

Together, these changes represent a meaningful shift.

Not through scale alone, but through visibility, participation and ownership. As a mid-sized city where high cultural diversity, a young population and largely informal cultural life intersect at neighbourhood scale, Peterborough offers a distinctive environment in which to test how culture-led approaches can support belonging, participation and shared identity.

UK City of Culture 2029 therefore provides an opportunity not only to accelerate change locally, but to generate learning with relevance for other towns and cities navigating growth, diversity and change as part of everyday civic life.