Peterborough City Council is proposing increased spending on highways maintenance, including pothole repairs and resurfacing, as part of its 2026/27 draft budget. Cabinet will consider the budget at a meeting on Tuesday 10 February 2026, with the aim of improving local travel and addressing long‑standing concerns about road quality.
Councillor Shabina Qayyum, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said the Government’s Fairer Funding settlement has helped move the council toward a more stable financial position and allowed it to focus on services residents use every day. “Years of underfunding have had a significant impact on the financial standing of the authority, and more fundamentally, the services we deliver to our residents,” she said in the council’s briefing on the draft budget.
The budget proposes targeted investment to resurface major routes and residential streets that have needed repairs for some time. Work is already under way on a Lincoln Road upgrade valued at about £3.4m (around £2.4m of which comes from the Government’s Towns Fund) — the scheme includes raised pedestrian crossings, cycle stands, improved paving and electric vehicle charging points.
Councillor Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, has said the additional funding will allow long‑delayed projects to begin. As he put it when discussing Lincoln Road improvements: “Lincoln Road is long overdue some investment… the Towns Fund grant has allowed us to finally get spades in the ground and start delivering.” The council says the resurfacing programme is intended to make local travel smoother and safer while protecting other essential services.
