New mayor Paul Bristow ‘started with a big bang’ during first week in charge

The newly-elected mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has spoken about his busy first week in charge.

Conservative Paul Bristow, who was MP for Peterborough between 2019 and 2024, is now the leader of the combined authority with responsibility for a £20million annual budget, as well as having devolved powers to spend up to £800million on local housing, infrastructure and jobs.

Mr Bristow met with Peterborough United at the end of his first week on Friday, May 9, to discuss his plans for a new community stadium with a swimming pool and concert venue on the Embankment.

“This was something proposed by Peterborough United a number of years ago, and it’s important that it is done in the city centre to breathe life into a city centre that’s faced challenging times,” he said.

“We would get the benefit of football fans, concert goers and swimming pool users into our city centre to revitalise the economy.”

Keen to fulfill the promises within his manifesto, Mr Bristow said he didn’t waste any time in getting started.

He has written to the Government about ending the CPCA’s role as the accountable body for the Greater South East Net Zero Hub, due to it having no direct impact on the county’s residents.

Mr Bristow also began work on his pledge to “end the war on motorists” by scrapping the combined authority’s target of reducing car miles driven by 15% by 2030.

“We started with a big bang,” he added.

“I wanted to make sure people knew I was serious about what I wanted to do and that my manifesto is a plan for delivery rather than just aspiration.

“That’s why I issued the mayoral decision notices on day one and have decided to write letters to relevant people about handing back the Net Zero Hub, which serves nobody in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and writing to East-West Rail.

“My task, and I’ve started to do it this week, is to meet with the other members of the board, make sure they understand that I want to hunt as a pack and start with a blank page.”

Mr Bristow also said he had an “incredibly constructive” meeting with Peterborough City Council leader Dennis Jones on Thursday, May 8.

“Dennis has the best interests of the city at heart.

“Sometimes we’ll disagree on how to get there, but I’m determined that we’re going to work together to get the best for Peterborough, and he agrees.”

After meeting all the new staff members he will be working with, Mr Bristow added: “Over the last two or three years, the combined authority has really tried to improve its reputation and improve the way it delivers, and they’ve been successful.

“That’s down to the staff and the team at the combined authority.

“I take my hats off to them and the professional way they’ve gone about implementing these changes I want to put forward is commendable.

“I’m confident we are going to have a brilliant team delivering for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”

Other actions taken by the new mayor during his first week included suspending the existing Corporate Strategy and mayoral pledges pending a full review in order to align the CPCA’s strategic priorities with the direction set out in his manifesto.

He also started the process of removing allowances for the chair, vice chair and members of the Combined Authority Business Board in line with his manifesto pledge.

He says this is to ensure public money is focused on frontline priorities and he is reevaluating all activity and funding.