Out in the Country – Rural Heritage

Peterborough Unitary Authority doesn’t just comprise the city centre but also the surrounding rural areas. Recent debates on reinstating the old name of the Soke show the wide areas covered (although this name doesn’t covered areas such as Thorney) by the Council. Alongside the Council there are the new Neighbourhood Councils and numerous Parish Councils who deal with the rural areas. These come together at groups such as the Rural Working Group, run by the Greater Peterborough Partnership, to discuss issues and strategies relating specifically to the rural environment.

The rural heritage comprises the whole villages, the historical landscape found in aspects such as medieval field boundaries, scheduled monuments and archaeology. The spiritual importance of heritage in the rural area, from Flag Fen to modern places of worship, is often found in buildings such as churches, of which continuing disuse is beginning to become a real issue. These redundant buildings are often listed and of importance to a community, but their lack of daily use and the cost of maintaining them means some slide into disrepair.

The Heritage Strategy for the city covers both the urban and rural areas, and both work together to promote Peterborough as a desirable visitor attraction, and a good place to live, with a wealth of beautiful landscapes and rich architectural heritage.

The west and east of the city both have distinct characters of their own, with Fenland out to the east and stone villages and more forestation out to the west. Individual areas also have their own characters, descriptions of which can be found in documents such as Conservation Area Appraisals, Landscape Character Assessments and Village Design Statements. These all stress the distinctiveness of each area and provide reference points for development to allow positive management of change. The history of a landscape can be used as a guide for its future – a key part of the Opportunity Peterborough’s Integrated Growth Study for the city which set out how we can grow sustainably.

Alice Kershaw