Peterborough, UK

Peterborough is located in the East of England and has a population of around 190,000. As the second fastest growing city in the United Kingdom, Peterborough is home to several world-leading companies in advanced manufacturing, finance and agriculture. Together, the local authorities, businesses and citizens are committed to engage the city in the transition towards a low-carbon economy. In view of becoming the Environment Capital of the United Kingdom the city has undertaken an ambitious regeneration programme, making Peterborough one of the United Kingdom’s four future city demonstrators for smart and sustainable solutions.

Possessing the country’s largest cluster of environmental businesses, Peterborough has set out a new energy strategy focusing on generating renewable energy, reducing energy consumption, enabling energy regeneration and reducing carbon emissions while getting financial benefits to the city. Peterborough’s success and the speed of its development have brought new challenges however, such as ensuring that all the inhabitants have access to central heating. To secure this objective, the municipality is working on energy production from waste while offering homeowners the opportunity to have solar panels installed for free. Utilising a £2.7 million Green Deal Community Fund, established by the City Council, the municipality has improved the energy efficiency to over 369 properties, targeted for their poor construction, by applying external wall insulation. 

In the framework of the Replication Cluster, Peterborough will have the opportunity to share advice and best practices on existing financing models for sustainable building refurbishment.