Climbing centre approved despite funding setback

Construction of a new city climbing wall and activity centre could begin next year, after planners approved revised proposals for the project.

Scaled-down plans for the facility at Ferry Meadows have been approved by Peterborough City Council, although the project still faces a funding shortfall.

Nene Park Trust recently missed out on a £1m funding bid for the project, after already scaling back the plans in an attempt to cut costs.

"We're very pleased to have planning permission secured," said Nene Park Trust chief executive Matthew Bradbury.

"[We will] be exploring a range of different funding options over the coming months to make this long-awaited activity centre a reality."

The £6m centre would have a 22m-tall (72ft) outdoor climbing tower, indoor roped climbing, bouldering, a cafe, a children's play area and accessible changing rooms.

Planning permission was first granted in 2021 for an "Olympic-standard" 34m-tall (110ft) climbing wall and activity site, which was abandoned after the cost was deemed unviable.

That bigger project attracted hundreds of objections, including from naturalist Chris Packham and Peterborough Civic Society.

Nene Park Trust later submitted revised plans for a "simpler, more cost-effective building", securing £1.45m from the Towns Fund - a ring-fenced redevelopment grant.

The charity asked for an additional £1m from the Towns Fund, having also committed its own reserves, but Peterborough City Council voted to award this funding to other projects, including the station quarter regeneration and the riverside Cygnet Bridge.

An assessment completed by council officers identified concerns with Nene Park Trust's project, including over "cost certainty, remaining funding gap, financial sustainability and deliverability relative to the size of the additional request".

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