‘We live here. We experience it’: Peterborough residents write the city’s first social contract

Drafted on Friday 6 November at the opening of Citizen Hub Peterborough, residents ask for a city that listens, and a place where everyone belongs. It is published today. 

PETERBOROUGH: Residents, employers and community groups have written Peterborough’s first social contract. In plain words, it sets out what they believe the city owes its people, and what they owe each other, at the opening of Citizen Hub Peterborough.

The free, open-door hub for jobs, skills, health and community support is based at The BRDG, 61 Bridge Street, a city-centre space established by Inspire Education Group (IEG). Working alongside local partners, IEG is an anchor partner in the initiative, bringing together education, employers and community organisations to help local people access support and opportunities. 200 people came through the doors and 90 of them took part in six table conversations. At 5.45pm their words were read aloud as the first draft. It is attached in full.

Local leaders joined in. At the Community-led Growth table, Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes, Mayor Paul Bristow, Councillor Dr Shabina Qayyum and Lloyds Bank Foundation chief executive Matt Hyde OBE sat with residents and local businesses. The message from the table was that regeneration should build connection, not just concrete. Green space, youth clubs and a high street people want to visit came up again and again. One young person said: “We just need more support like community hubs. Community hubs are perfect, and we need to expand in different areas.”

The thread running through it is connection. Residents asked for a place “where you’ll always find a friendly face”, where “people can be who they are”, and where people are celebrated for their talent. “Small actions can have profound impacts and that is the power of human connection,” the contract says.

On the day, partners, businesses and residents made more than 45 offers of support, including free mental health sessions, connections to work, individual coaching, CV writing and interview navigating, fraud support and art and crafts. 

They were clear about what gets in the way. They also want a real say in what happens next: “We should have a big say. We live here. We experience it.”

The need is real. In Peterborough, 11,100 people are out of work and want a job, and the city is the only part of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough above the England unemployment rate. Citizen Hub brings support for work, skills, health and community.

What Peterborough said

The contract has six chapters, and every word comes from the people in the room. Among them: 

• Mental health and belonging: formal systems too often “don’t listen to what people need”. The hub should be a space to “meet peers” and find support “tailored to what people actually need.”
• Learning and a second chance: there isn’t one path for everyone. Different routes should have “the same kudos” as traditional ones.
• Cost of living: “People in Peterborough should not have to choose between prioritising one utility over another.” Nobody should turn down a chance to learn or work because they can’t afford the bus.
• Work and opportunity: “Young people want the chance to show what they can do. With the freedom to make mistakes and improve”
• Community-led growth: “There is an abundance of talent in our community. The Hub should provide that space for ideas to be surfaced, connections to be made and different communities to be brought together.”
• Voice and what we owe each other: The Hub should be the bridge between communities and decision makers. “Citizens are the ones who have the voice and are the ones who can enact change.”

What happens next

The contract is now the hub’s brief. Citizen Hub Peterborough is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, and has begun a six-month listening period. During this time, residents will shape the services it offers. The hub will report back in May 2027 on what has changed because of the contract. Anyone who missed the open day can add their voice online, or by dropping in. 

Employers, volunteers and organisations who want to get involved can drop in and see Ewan Morton, project manager at Inspire Education Group (IEG), who leads the hub day-to-day or email Peterborough@citizenhub.co.uk.

Alex Hughes, founder and CEO of Citizen Hub Network and a director of Citizen Hub Peterborough CIC, said:

“On Friday we didn’t tell Peterborough what it needs. We asked, and 200 people answered. Some of what they said is hard to hear, and it should be. This social contract is theirs. It is now the brief for everything this hub does next.” 

Snow Maliavskaja, chair of the Community Group SOS.LTC and local resident, said:

“I truly believe that when passionate people come together with a shared purpose, amazing things can happen.”

Sarah Young, Chief Learning Officer at Inspire Education Group and a director of Citizen Hub Peterborough CIC, said:

“Colleges belong at the heart of the communities they serve. That matters most for young people who have stepped away from learning or work. We’re proud to anchor the city’s Citizen Hub.”

Lewis Vernum, founder of Project Abundance CIC and a director of Citizen Hub Peterborough CIC, said:

“Peterborough has far more skill and goodwill than it gets credit for. Most of it goes untapped because people don’t know where to plug in. Citizen Hub gives them that place: an open door on Bridge Street for anyone who wants to give something or needs something.”

Peterborough is the third Citizen Hub, after St Neots and South Wimbledon, and the first in a city centre. In its first year, with no core funding, Citizen Hub St Neots had 10,600 visits, and 60% of them were people coming back. More than 150 people started jobs. Citizen Hub Network aims to seed 120 hubs across the UK by 2031.

Andrew Pakes, MP for Peterborough, said:

"I had a great time at Citizen Hub on Friday, talking with residents about how they want to see Peterborough change as it grows. Our city is full of talent and people who want to help. What's often missing is somewhere you can go and be known. Citizen Hub on Bridge Street is that place. Anyone can walk in, with no referral needed, whether they're looking for a job or a course or just someone to talk to.

That's especially important for young people. Too many in Peterborough are finding it hard to get into work, which is why I fought for us to be one of the first places to pilot the Youth Guarantee. With the hub now up and running, young people can go there to get help with courses, apprenticeships and jobs right in the city centre. It's already worked in St Neots, and I'm proud Peterborough is helping to take it national."