In September 2025, a Peterborough City Council press release said that over the previous 13 years, their debt balance had increased from £143 million to £527 million. That is a huge increase and the highest debt levels have been in the city’s history, with servicing costs of nearly £40 million annually. This, they say was caused by the council’s dwindling resources and rising demand in areas such as school place planning. The report also says that historic debt is being reduced at an average rate of £20 million per year, which means it will take a very long time to pay it off. That is money that would otherwise be going to public services, so if you are wondering why the streets are dirty, potholes are not being filled, and litter is building up, this is possibly one of the reasons why.
This included costs that Peterborough City Council maybe would rather be swept under the carpet:
- Over £1.5 million spent on a proposed solar farm at Borough Fen, Newborough, and Morris Fen that was then cancelled.
“Peterborough City Council Expenditure on consultation has been less than £10,000, or 5.6% of total spend, and in particular the treatment of the farmers has been shoddy and high handed. In contrast, more than £440,000 has been spent on planning fees; £125,000 on financial modelling advice from Deloitte; £150,000 on legal fees, mainly to City lawyers Pinsent Masons; and an astonishing £951,000—almost twice the original budget—for technical consultants AECOM. Industry experts have stated privately that they have never seen such inflated expenditure for work on which there has been so little demonstrable progress.” Renewable Energy (Peterborough) - £23 million lent to Empower who went bust
“We believe there have been significant weaknesses in the governance arrangements with Empower Community Management LLP during the 2020/2021 financial year which has exposed the authority to financial loss.” Peterborough council ‘exposed itself to loss’ from £23m solar panel loan, auditors conclude - £17 million lent to the developers of the Hilton Hotel that went bust
In March 2023, then-Peterborough City Council leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald stated that the £15m loan for the Fletton Quays Hilton hotel was “safe” and that the council was making a commercial return. Another Cllr, Andy Coles stressed that the loan was fully secured. Peterborough City Council faces an expected £9–13 million loss on Fletton Quays Hotel collapse - £47.378 million to purchase Sand Martin House, Peterborough City Councils HQ.
This was after moving out of their previous site Bayard Place which was then sold for £5.95 million.
On top of this is the story that £4.1 million was spent by Peterborough City Council purchasing the former TKMaxx building in Peterborough city centre which was then sold for half that.
Taken together, these decisions leave a lasting legacy that will be felt by Peterborough residents for decades to come. What should have been investment in the city’s future has instead translated into a mounting financial burden, with hundreds of millions in debt tying the hands of future budgets. Even with repayments continuing, the reality is that local people will be living with the consequences for a generation, through reduced services, neglected infrastructure, and fewer opportunities for meaningful investment in their communities. The question is has the council learnt from this?
Alongside the financial impact, there remains a persistent concern about the apparent lack of accountability to the highly paid managers who are involved in these decisions, some on over £100,000 per year, with limited visible consequences or scrutiny despite the scale of the losses and failed projects. Long after the headlines fade, it is ordinary residents who will continue paying the price, officers and managers will move on or retire on large pensions leaving resident effectively saddled with the cost of past missteps well into the future
The video below shows why some local authorities have got into the state they have. Peterborough gets a mention…