The City of Peterborough, is a district with

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, England. The district is named after its largest settlement,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, but also covers a wider area of outlying villages and hamlets. The district is administered by Peterborough City Council, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. The district's area covers parts of the historic counties of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, as well as a small part of Cambridgeshire. In 1965, the area became part of the short-lived county of

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgesh ...

before becoming a district of

in 1974. Located in the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

region of England, the area borders the surrounding counties of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and Northamptonshire. The population of the district was 202,259 making it the second-largest district by population in

(after East Suffolk). Most of the contemporary district was formerly part of the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

, a

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

within the historic county of Northamptonshire. Between 1889 and 1965, Peterborough was governed by the Soke of Peterborough County Council, making the Soke of Peterborough a completely autonomous, self-governing part of Northamptonshire, while the rest of that county was governed by Northamptonshire County Council. Today, the City of Peterborough district holds a similar status as part of Cambridgeshire to that which the Soke of Peterborough had as part of Northamptonshire, in that the contemporary district is a Unitary Authority with its own council, and a self-governing part of Cambridgeshire while the rest of that county is governed by

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...

. Peterborough was a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settlement during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

era. The district also includes outlying villages such as Thorney, Old Fletton, Werrington, Parnwell, Dogsthorpe, Eye Green, Glinton, Northborough, Maxey, Wittering, Wansford and Ailsworth. The district borders

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

, Fenland,

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...

and

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

Administration

Parliamentary seat

The city formed a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

returning two members from 1541, with the rest of the Soke being part of Northamptonshire parliamentary county. The

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

did not affect the borough, although the remaining, rural portion of the Soke was transferred to the northern division of

. In 1885, the borough's representation was reduced to one member, and in 1918, the boundaries were adjusted to include the whole Soke. Recent Members of Parliament for

have included the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Sir Harmar Nicholls (1950–1974), Labour's Michael Ward (1974–1979), Conservative

Brian Mawhinney Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, (26 July 1940 – 9 November 2019) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1997 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2005. Early life Mawhin ...

(1979–1997), Labour's

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

(1997–2005) and Conservative Stewart Jackson (2005–2017). Fiona Onasanya won in the 2017 general election for Labour; Onasanya was then expelled from the Labour party in December 2018, but kept her seat as an independent until being ejected on 1 May 2019 after a recall petition, triggering a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, which won by Labour's Lisa Forbes (June - November 2019). Conservative

Paul Bristow Paul Bristow (born 27 March 1979) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough since 2025 and formerly served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough (UK Parl ...

won the seat in the 2019 general election and served as MP for one term, being defeated by Labour's

Andrew Pakes Andrew Elliot Pakes (born 24 April 1973 as Andrew Stone) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency), Peterborough since 2024. A member ...

in 2024. In 1997, the North West Cambridgeshire constituency was formed, incorporating parts of the city and neighbouring Huntingdonshire. The inaugural member was Sir

, former

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

and

Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

. Mawhinney, who had previously served as Member of Parliament for Peterborough from 1979, did not stand for re-election in 2005 and was created

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Mawhinney of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire later that year. He was succeeded by fellow Conservative Shailesh Vara; Vara remained MP until 2024 when he was defeated by Sam Carling of the Labour Party; Carling, aged 22, became the youngest member of the House of Commons.

Local government

From 1889, the ancient Soke of Peterborough formed an

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

in its own right with boundaries similar, although not identical, to the current unitary authority. The area however remained geographically part of Northamptonshire until 1965, when the Soke was merged with

to form the county of

. Following a review of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in 1974, Huntingdon and Peterborough was abolished and the current

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

created by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Peterborough with

Peterborough Rural District Peterborough was a rural district adjoining the city and municipal borough of Peterborough, England, from 1894 to 1974. The council offices were at 51 Priestgate, in the city of Peterborough. The rural district was created under the Local Go ...

, Barnack Rural District, Thorney Rural District, Old Fletton Urban District and part of the

Norman Cross Rural District Norman Cross was a rural district in Huntingdonshire from 1894 to 1974. It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Peterborough rural sanitary district which was in Huntingdonshire (the rest forming part of ...

, which had each existed since 1894. This became part of the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

Letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

were granted continuing the status of city over the greater area. In 1998, the city became autonomous of Cambridgeshire

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

as a unitary authority, but it continues to form part of that county for ceremonial purposes. The leader and cabinet model of decision-making, first adopted by the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 2001, is similar to national government.

Policing The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizen ...

in the city remains the responsibility of Cambridgeshire Constabulary; and firefighting, the responsibility of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded in 1884, is unique in the United Kingdom in that it functions as a retained fire station, under the control of the county fire and rescue service, but with unpaid firefighters. The Royal Anglian Regiment serves as the county regiment for Cambridgeshire. Peterborough formed its first territorial army unit, the 6th Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, in 1860.

Health service

Following the

Health and Social Care Act 2012 The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (c. 7) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for the most extensive reorganisation of the structure of the National Health Service (England), National Health Ser ...

, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were National Health Service (England), National Health Service (NHS) organisations set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to replace Strategic health authority, strategic health authorities and NHS pr ...

became the main commissioner of health services in the city. Adult

social care Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

functions of NHS Peterborough transferred back to the city council in 2012 and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

transferred in 2013. The responsibility of guided primary care services (general practitioners, dentists, opticians and pharmacists) transferred to

NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...

. In 2017 the responsibility for commissioning Primary Care Services transferred back to the CCG. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is one of the largest CCGs in the England with over 984,000 registered patients, 91 GP practices and a budget of £1.16bn in 2017–18. Although predominately providing health services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough the CCG also has practices in both Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. Previously, NHS Peterborough (the public-facing name of Peterborough Primary Care Trust) guided primary care services in the city, directly provided adult social care and services in the community such as health visiting and

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

and also funded hospital care and other specialist treatments. Prior to the formation of the PCT, the North West Anglia Healthcare NHS Trust provided health functions within the city and before that, Peterborough Health Authority. Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust became one of the first ten English

NHS foundation trust An NHS foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service (England), National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the a ...

s in 2004 and in 2017, merged with Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust to form North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. Although a £300 million health investment plan has seen the transfer of the city's two hospitals into a single site, the Trust has been plagued by financial problems since the move. The full planning application for the redevelopment of the former Edith Cavell Hospital was approved by the council in 2006. Planning permission for the development of an integrated care centre on the site of the former Fenland Wing at Peterborough District Hospital was granted in 2003. The City Care Centre finally opened in 2009 and the first patients were treated at the new Peterborough City Hospital in 2010. The private Fitzwilliam Hospital run by Ramsay Health Care UK is situated in the landscaped grounds of the Milton Estate. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, a designated University of Cambridge teaching trust, provides services to those who suffer from mental health problems. Following merger of the Cambridgeshire Ambulance Service in 1994, then the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust in 2006, the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is responsible for the provision of statutory

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...

(EMS) in Peterborough. The East Anglian Air Ambulance provides helicopter EMS across the region.

Public utilities

The council's budget for the financial year 2018–19 is £418.7 million.Council Tax Summary
Peterborough City Council, 1 April 2018. The main source of non-school funding is the formula grant, which is paid by central government to local authorities based on the services they provide. This was reduced by nearly 40% during the course of the 2010-15 parliament. The remainder, to which the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

authorities (and parish council where this exists) set a precept, is raised from council tax and business rates. This amounts to £59.5 million in 2015–16. Mains water and sewerage services are provided by

Anglian Water Anglian Water Services Limited is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly ...

, a former nationalised industry and

natural monopoly A natural monopoly is a monopoly in an industry in which high infrastructural costs and other barriers to entry relative to the size of the market give the largest supplier in an industry, often the first supplier in a market, an overwhelming adv ...

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

in 1989 and now regulated by OFWAT. Following deregulation, the consumer has a choice of energy supplier. Electricity was formerly provided by

Eastern Electricity Eastern Electricity plc was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving Eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London. It was renamed ''Eastern Group'' under which name it was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

, which was privatised in 1990. In 2002, the supply business was sold to Powergen (now E.ON UK) and the distribution rights to EDF Energy who sold them to UK Power Networks in 2010. Natural gas was (and still is) supplied by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

, which was privatised in 1986; distribution (and gas and electricity transmission) is the responsibility of the National Grid, having been demerged as Transco in 1997. These industries are regulated by

OFGEM The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of G ...

Peterborough Power Station Peterborough Power Station is a 360MW gas-fired power station at Eastern Industry, Fengate, Peterborough, Fengate in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. It employs around forty people. The power station was commissi ...

is a 367 MWe gas-fired plant in Fengate operated by

Centrica Centrica plc is a British  multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest suppliers ...

Energy. British Telecommunications, privatised in 1984, provides fixed

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over Copper wire, copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem ...

enabled (8 Mbit/s) telephone lines. Local loop unbundling, giving other

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

s direct access, is completed at four out of 12 exchanges. The city is cabled by

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

(previously Peterborough Cablevision, Cable & Wireless and NTL). These businesses are regulated by

OFCOM The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

. Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council are embarking on a superfast broadband project to deliver access to improved connectivity to areas where it is acknowledged that the market is unlikely to deliver.

Civil parishes

The district contains the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

s of Peterborough, Old Fletton and

Stanground North Stanground North is a former civil parish in the City of Peterborough, Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of zero. The parish, which covered open fields on a flood pla ...

and 29 civil parishes: * Ailsworth * Bainton * Barnack * Borough Fen * Bretton * Castor * Deeping Gate * Etton *

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

* Glinton * Hampton Hargate and Vale * Helpston * Marholm * Maxey * Newborough * Northborough * Orton Longueville * Orton Waterville * Peakirk * Southorpe * St Martin's Without *

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

* Thorney *

Thornhaugh Thornhaugh is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in the city of City of Peterborough, Peterborough unitary authority, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For electoral purposes the parish forms part of the Glinton, Cambridg ...

* Ufford * Upton * Wansford * Wittering * Wothorpe

Demographics

Ethnicity

Religion

Local landmarks

The district contains many notable attractions and landmarks including:

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...

, Burghley House,

Nene Valley Railway The Nene Valley Railway (NVR) is a Heritage railway, preserved railway in Cambridgeshire, England, running between and Yarwell Junction. The line is in length. There are stations at each terminus, and three stops en route: , and . History ...

, and Longthorpe Tower.

2016 EU Referendum

On Thursday 23 June 2016 Peterborough voted in the 2016 EU Referendum under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 where voters were asked to decide on the question "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" by voting for either "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union". The result produced a large "Leave" majority by 61% of voters on a turnout of 72% across the city with only the wards of Peterborough Central, Barnack and late postal votes in the city council area returning "Remain" votes and all other wards returning "Leave" majority votes. Stewart Jackson, the then MP for the parliamentary constituency of Peterborough, backed "Leave". Shailesh Vara, MP for the neighbouring constituency of North West Cambridgeshire which includes a substantial part of the city, campaigned for a "Remain" vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterborough, City of Non-metropolitan districts of Cambridgeshire Unitary authority districts of England Boroughs in England Cities in the East of England