Councillors will decide on 13 July 2026 whether to recommend releasing £410,000 of council funds to push forward detailed designs for a proposed £13 million Youth Zone on the Embankment. The Peterborough City Council scrutiny committee meets with a recommendation to Cabinet that the money, drawn from reserves, should be handed to national charity OnSide Youth Zones Limited to complete RIBA Stage 3 designs and submit a planning application.
Of the total, £360,000 would flow to OnSide under a grant agreement, while the remaining £50,000 covers the council’s own legal, procurement and valuation costs. The proposed facility—slated for land near the outdoor Lido swimming pool—would serve young people aged 8 to 19, extending to 25 for those with disabilities or additional needs. Inside, more than 20 activities are planned, from a sports hall, boxing ring and dance studio to a sensory room, arts and crafts spaces, fitness suites, performing arts areas and a wellbeing room.
OnSide already runs 15 similar Youth Zones across the country, with another eight in development. The charity reports that its existing centres have coincided with a 50 to 75 per cent drop in anti-social behaviour within the first year, while 70 per cent of members say they feel happier and healthier and two-thirds of parents note improved mental health in their children. The Embankment site was chosen after officers assessed other locations, including Fletton Quays, and forms part of the wider Embankment regeneration programme that already includes the new £36 million leisure centre and ARU Peterborough university campus.
If the scrutiny committee gives its backing, the recommendation will pass to Cabinet later in July. Councillor Numan Ali Iqbal, cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said he was “very keen for this proposal to be progressed quickly.” A further report on the legal structure and financial update is expected before the end of 2026. Alongside the council’s own contribution, the authority intends to bid for Better Youth Spaces funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a pot due to open later this year.
OnSide’s existing centres typically charge 50p per visit with an annual membership of £5 and open seven days a week, all year round, outside school hours. The council’s planning portal will carry details once the application is submitted, and residents can track progress through the Embankment programme page on the council’s website.
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