A river runs through it

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, YOU KNOW!

ONE thing I find astonishing about Peterborough and its planners is the way the latter have failed to make the most of the River Nene that flows through the city. Or at least they have failed to make the most of it for the majority of the population...

The people who have gained are the usual suspects: the property speculators and developers who have built flats on the north bank upstream of the town bridge. This could have been an opportunity to create an imaginative riverside space, close to the city centre, but that opportunity has of course been squandered.

I wonder why? Then again, when it comes to planning, politicians (local and national) and people who talk a lot about "investment" and "growth", I do a lot of wondering.

I'm not, of course, suggesting anything underhand in the planning of Peterborough, past or present. Perish the thought! Blame my naturally suspicious nature. I've been a journalist for over 30 years and it has become part of my DNA. It's just that when poor decisions are made, I can't help worrying...

I wouldn't have such a suspicious nature if only decisions were made that benefitted everybody. And by everybody, I mean everybody, from all walks of society. Imagine if you can a beautiful, paved riverside area with cafes and outdoor tables, where you could sit and watch the world, and the River Nene, go by.  Is it just me that finds the view from Peterborough's Town Bridge depressing? Happily, I can soon descend to Charters, the floating pub moored by the bridge, and drown my sorrows.

Charters, of course, is one of the exceptions to what is otherwise a grim vista. But then, Charters was the result of one man's imagination (and determination). It didn't involve politicians, planners and developers. Paul Hook did it all himself by going to Holland, buying a great big boat and sailing it back across the North Sea and up the Nene to the city. Today it's my favourite Peterborough pub and an example of what can be achieved.

The river flowing through Peterborough wasn't always ignored. The illustration at the foot of this blog shows what it looked like in Edwardian times, when you could hire rowing skiffs by the bridge and explore the river under oars-power. I love this scene with its moored houseboats, quaysides and riverside industry. Happily, the smoke-belching power station is long gone...

That's one of the old images I dug out while researching the second edition of my book, The River Nene From Source to Sea, which I published late last year as an e-book, on Amazon's Kindle platform. Secondhand volumes of the previous hardback edition (published in 1997) had been selling for over £100, so I thought I'd update it and make it readily (and cheaply) available to a new audience. If you do read it, you'll be relieved to learn that my views on the whole river, from the source above Northampton to the sea below Wisbech, are every bit as forthright as they are in this blog!

Anyway, I'm digressing. What I really want to say is that I sincerely hope that Citizen Power Peteborough changes things for the better. The truth is that we probably get the politicians we deserve, because so many of us - myself included - are reluctant to get involved.

I would really like to see a new generation of enthusiastic, intelligent and public-spirited people getting together and making Peterborough a better place to live in. And I for one would be delighted if they started by the River Nene...

David Phillips

www.nenemedia.com

Email: david@nenemedia.com