Peterborough Positive, Peterborough City Council and Light Project Peterborough joined forces over the festive period to help ensure Peterborough’s city centre was safe and welcoming for all, supporting night-time venues during one of their busiest periods of the year.
Central to these efforts was a Health Outreach Bus, positioned outside Boots on Long Causeway on Friday and Saturday nights throughout December.
Funded by Peterborough Positive and deployed by Light Project Peterborough, with support from Boroughbury Medical Centre, the bus provided a wide range of essential services, including:
• Anti-drink spiking kits
• General medical welfare support
• Health triage and assessment
• Signposting and support to emergency services
• Pastoral and general welfare support
• Water, flip flops and lollipops
Across six nights of operation, the team recorded 1,350 interactions, including 17 health consultations. They distributed 533 anti-spiking kits, 156 pairs of flip flops and 22 condoms. Conversations also included 15 instances of mental health support and 16 related to homelessness.
Alongside the Health Outreach Bus, Peterborough City Council ran the Taxi Marshal Scheme on key nights, providing an additional layer of safety for those leaving city centre venues. Marshals were primarily based on Broadway, with regular checks on Westgate, helping to manage queues, deter unlicensed vehicles and ensure an orderly environment at taxi ranks.
The marshals also supported vulnerable individuals, assisted with welfare concerns, liaised with taxi providers to help people get home safely, and signposted individuals to the Health Outreach Bus.
Pep Cipriano, Chief Operating Officer at Peterborough Positive, said:
“We are pleased to have brought key partners together to support night-time venues during their busiest period. Multi-agency initiatives like this demonstrate the positive impact of partnership working. By combining the Health Outreach Bus with the Taxi Marshal Scheme and an enhanced police presence, we helped create a safer, more welcoming evening city centre experience for all.”
Steven Pettican, Chief Executive Officer at Light Project Peterborough, said:
“I am so pleased to be able to partner with Peterborough Positive on this important initiative. Peterborough has a vibrant and exciting city centre life, with so many people working hard over Christmas to give us the best of this. But, from time to time we need a helping hand and to play a small part in keeping people safe over this festive period was important for us at Light Project Peterborough.”
Cllr Zameer Ali, Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Poverty and Public Health, said:
“We want to ensure that the public can have an enjoyable, safe night out in Peterborough. This is why we ran the popular Taxi Marshal scheme during the recent run up to Christmas, which is always a busy time of year. “I’m delighted to say that once again we had positive feedback from the public, the police and businesses whilst the scheme was running. The marshals provided a strong visual presence, ensuring people got home safely whilst keeping an eye out for any concerns regarding vulnerability and welfare.”
The city’s police also increased visibility as part of the Winter of Action campaign, working closely with partners to improve safety in the night-time economy.
This enhanced presence helped reduce reported violence in the city centre by 22% compared with the same period last year. Officers made multiple arrests for offences including violent crime, while dispersal orders were used to manage behaviour and protect public safety.
