The Phoenix Futures Programme
Huntingdonshire and Peterborough City are both in the process of developing new local plans which will shape the future of the area through to 2040. In light of aspirations for ‘good’ growth; the commitment to high quality design codes and legal obligations to achieve net zero communities by 2035; what will the communities and enterprises of the future look like?
What commitments, principles and behaviours do we need to adopt now, in order to meet those aspirations collaboratively? What mechanisms and policy approaches are required to best shape the opportunities of prospective new Local Plans across Huntingdonshire and Peterborough?
Answering these questions drives our Phoenix Future Programme as we hold workshops bringing together innovative and inquisitive minds from across our region to discuss energy, education, housing, work and community.
Catch-up on our latest Phoenix Futures workshop! – Creating Connected Communities
Our fourth workshop examined the theme of transport and emerging technologies and whether they can help address many of the challenges about transport, in particular, that had been articulated by the young people’s panel at our third workshop.
We also explored Community Connectivity, and the views of our older and younger generations, their expectations from the new communities of the future and how we can overcome intergenerational barriers.
Location: Commemoration Hall, Huntingdon
Featuring Speakers:
Dr Nik Johnson, Major of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Matthew Stevens and Darran Kitchener, Milestone Transport Planning
Matthew Morgan, Director, Quality of Life Foundation
Graham Lewis, Healthwatch
Karl Hick was unable to attend but sent this video message (below).
Watch the workshop in full below – or download our summary report!
Discover our third workshop!
After two engaging workshops in 2023, our third – Youth, Innovation and the Economy – explored what local young people feel about the future, the possible impacts of AI on our society and the outlook for our local economy. The workshop was shaped by talks from three keynote speakers:
Eva Woods, former Peterborough Youth MP
Al Kingsley, Chair of CPCA Business Board
Dr Faraz Janan, Senior Lecturer in AI and Computing at Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge
Read our Voice of Youth articles
Ahead of our youth-focused third workshop, we asked three local youth councillors to pen pieces on a topic of their choice.
The results show the depth of understanding, curiosity and passion in our young people. Traits that we will seek to display and encourage at our latest workshop.
Catch-up on our previous workshops
We have held two workshops to date in Huntingdon and Peterborough, looking at how we can develop the right principles to ensure that the new communities and enterprises we plan for now can meet our aspirations and commitments to the future.
You can watch both workshops in full below and download our post-event reports summarising key inputs and outcomes.
Workshop One – The Future of Communities, Housing and the Environment
Featuring:
Lord Lord Matthew Taylor, Julie Farrow: Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations, Max Farrell: LDN Collective, Jas Bhalla, Jas Bass Bhalla Architects, Luke Butcher: Butcher Bayley Architects, Natasha Reid: Matter-Space-Soul, Liane Hartley: MEND
Workshop Two – The Future of Enterprise, Employment and Energy
Featuring:
Laura Guyner: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Mark Woods: Meridian Trust, Ross Renton: ARU Peterborough, Jim Plunkett-Cole: Smart Growth Analytics, Eva Woods: Member of Youth Parliament for Peterborough, Sam Luker: AESG, Matthew Hunt: Royal HaskpningDHV, Jim Newton: Peterborough City Council, Ceren Clulow: Connecting Cambridgeshire, Simon Evans: Phoenix Sustainable Investments