The Peterborough Podcast

Is there scope for a waterfall at Cygnet Bridge? And could we uncover Peterborough's hidden dock?These are two ideas floated by Brian Pearce MBE, one of the founders of Railworld Wildlife Haven who has been working alongside a team of volunteers to completely transform a derelict piece of land into a wonderful community garden for the past 40 years.Working with the brilliant Rev Richard Paten, Brian drew on his engineering experience at Perkins to help make it one of Peterborough's most popular destinations - and there are no plans to stop now!In our latest Peterborough Podcast Brian spoke about his fears for the environment; how he would coach trainees across the world; how Peterborough helped create Railworld; and much more.Find out more about Railworld here: https://www.railworldwildlifehaven.org.uk/This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Dr Mike Greene is a British entrepreneur and mentor, a former political candidate for the Brexit Party, and Deputy Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire. He built his first business in his twenties, and admits he "grew too fast. Lost everything. Delivered pizzas on mopeds with my wife just to survive." He then rebuilt to run operations across 16 countries, building and selling businesses and investing in thousands across the world.He founded the Association of Retail Newsagents and has been a board member of the Association of Convenience Stores for 20 years, and in 2011 he appeared on the Channel 4 show The Secret Millionaire, where he returned undercover to Peterborough—specifically visiting deprived areas like Dogsthorpe and volunteering at the Time Stop YMCA hostel and the New Ark Adventure Playground. In this hard hitting podcast we spoke about toughening up our youngsters; politics in Peterborough; our many successes as a city; AI - good, bad or both? and much more.Find out more about Mike here: https://mikegreene.co.uk/This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Dean Watson is the manager of the Youth Hub based at Peterborough United Football Club.The Hub was launched last autumn, as part of the government’s Youth Guarantee trailblazers scheme with the support of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). It is led and hosted by Peterborough United Foundation, in partnership with CKH, JobCentre Plus, the Department of Work and Pensions and CPCA, and pools the strengths, experience and resources to bring together services under one roof – from careers advice and skills training to mental health support and job-matching for people aged 16-24.In our chat we spoke about his journey to the role; pressures for young people in 2026; his new book on parenting; the importance of mentors; and how AI is affecting jobs for young people - it might not be what you think!Find out more about the Youth Hub here: https://haypeterborough.co.uk/support...This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Will you be able to grow teeth in the future? What's a common gap between cosmetic surgery abroad - and the patient needing dental care to repair the damage? And how do you treat the teeth of someone with dementia or Alzheimers?Dr Jawad Abbas is the man behind DentGo; based in the city centre, the service which travels to care homes, nursing homes and housebound patients across Peterborough — bringing expert extractions, fillings, dentures and check-ups directly to those who cannot visit a surgery.The patients include residents at care homes, nursing homes and housebound patients across Peterborough.In a fascinating chat we spoke about the overall state of dentistry in the UK, and whether people are looking after their teeth properly. Are we doing enough to educate our children about their dental health? Why are we obsessed with cosmetic surgery? And how many times can you eat sugary food in a day - it's not zero!Find out more about DentGo here: https://dentgo.uk/This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Peterborough-based Kelly Swingler is a burnoutologist and coach, who learned the hard way of burnout's effects - nearly dying after it returned for a second time to her life.She has spent the last 13 years helping CEOs, managers, directors and employees across the world deal with its debilitating effects, as well as training coaches to spot it in others.She's coached 700+ leaders through burnout, and also trained 165 coaches from 15 countries; her PhD is focused on the cognitive impact of burnout and how coaching can be the secret weapon in the fight against burnout.In our podcast Kelly revealed the facts behind burnout and how to spot it; its physical effects; the role of social media; and how the death of her successor at a previous job changed her entire career.More information on Kelly's work can be found here: https://www.kellyswingler.com/This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Earlier this year The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) selected Peterborough to receive up to £40m of Pride in Place funding to support regeneration in the city.The programme gives neighbourhood boards control of up to £2m every year for the next 10 years, to be spent on projects that will make a real difference to the areas they live - locally led by those who know their communities best.The city MPs and council appealed for applicants to chair the two new Neighbourhood Boards in Peterborough, and appointed Jonathan Jelley MBE JP to chair the Paston, Gunthorpe and Welland Board, and Ejaz Moghul to chair the Orton Malborne and Goldhay Board.We spoke to the duo about their first few months in the roles; the formation of the boards, what they want to achieve, how they report their progress; and how they're getting their communities involved.More information can be found here:https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/council/planning-and-development/regeneration/peterborough-pride-in-place-programmeThis podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.comWe're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Bijou Cocktail Bar is Peterborough’s premier cocktail bar and live music venue, known for handcrafted cocktails, bottomless brunch, and a unique pick your own afternoon tea, where you can enjoy a stylish, vibrant atmosphere with live DJs, bands, themed nights, and karaoke. No Work Club is a venue to de-stress, with Axe Throwing, Escape Rooms, Urban Crazy Golf and interactive darts - all under one roof.The duo behind both businesses are Tom and Lisa, and in this podcast they discuss their aims and achievements; what it's like running two businesses; the things poeple never see about businesses; and much more.This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.comWe're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Old Station Quarter brings together premium fitness, recovery, grooming, creativity and social spaces under one roof. Created to be a place to move, to work, to unwind, and to belong – all set within the original Peterborough station building.The space opened recently off Bourges Boulevard and has already attracted lots of interest, so it was great to talk to Lee Muxlow - one of the six people behind the Quarter - to tell us all about it. We spoke about how luck played a part in the location; how Peterborough has changed in the past 30 years; the reaction to the Quarter so far; and short and long-term ambitions.This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

Toby Wood is vice chair of The Peterborough Civic Society, an independent, registered charity dedicated to preserving the city's heritage and fostering local civic pride. Originally formed in 1952, it monitors urban planning, encourages high-quality sustainable development, and advocates for community well-being.Never short of an opinion, in this wide-ranging podcast Toby and I discussed what Peterborough is good and bad at; what tourists really think of the city; how the Embankment and Fletton Quays could thrive in the future; and even where Peterborough is - trickier than you might think!This podcast is hosted in collaboration with The Comms Smith (Pauline Smith) - we're sharing stories about why Peterborough is a great place to live, work and play: https://www.commssmith.com/We're always looking for interesting guests to tell their Peterborough story - email us at [email protected]

The Circle Sessions is Peterborough's newest live music experience and artist showcase, built to spotlight the next wave of talent. Each event delivers a powerful live experience featuring an 8-piece R&B house band, five artists, and a DJ, creating a night filled withgreat music, connection, and non-stop vibes. It's debuting on July 3 at the Met Lounge, and we spoke to singer Ramaen and host Asha - two of those behind the evening. How can creatives get ahead in Peterborough? Is the bid for City of Culture status a strong one? How did the duo meet, and what's their background? Who are the city's creatives we should be looking out for? And how will they know the evening is a success? A great chat with two skilful creatives in our city!The Peterborough #Podcast is hosted in conjunction with The Comms Smith- we're on a mission to share stories about why #Peterborough is a great place to live, work, and play.