Peterborough City Council

Peterborough City Council: local government and municipal services

Peterborough City Council is the local government body for Peterborough. Its work is organised around a broad range of services for residents, businesses and visitors, including waste and recycling, council tax, planning and development, housing, education and libraries, among others.

Services for residents

The council groups its services into areas such as adult services, bins and recycling, business rates, children and families, community safety, council and democratic activity, council tax, environment and planning, housing, libraries and leisure and cultural facilities, money and benefits, parking, schools and education, as well as Trading Standards, Environmental Health, Licensing and Housing Standards. It also covers transport, highways and streets.

Among the most common tasks the council offers to citizens are searching for job vacancies at the council itself, paying invoices through its online payments system (for example, business rates or penalty notices) and submitting reports and issues through its online reporting system.

Customer service and payment channels

The council has a general customer service phone line on 01733 747474, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The council itself warns that the call centre often receives a high volume of calls and that waiting times vary, particularly on Mondays, Fridays and at lunchtimes. For certain transactions, it recommends using the online enquiry form to avoid waiting on the phone.

There is also a freephone number, 0800 389 1977, available for payments of council tax, business rates, parking fines (PCN), invoices and housing benefit overpayments.

In-person service is provided at a small customer services desk at Peterborough Town Hall, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The council states that it does not have any self-serve computers or phones available for public use at that site.

Direct contact with departments

In addition to general customer service, the council provides direct phone lines for different areas, all open between 9am and 5pm:

• Benefit enquiries: 01733 452241
• Council tax enquiries: 01733 452258
• Electoral services: 01733 452249
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH): 01733 864170
• Family information services: 01733 864446
• Housing needs: 01733 864064
• Register office: 01733 864646
• Licensing: 01733 453491
• Parking: 01733 452514
• Planning: 01733 453410
• Building control: 01733 453422

For general enquiries, the contact email is ask@peterborough.gov.uk. Adult services have their own online enquiry form.

Out-of-hours emergencies

The council reserves a number of numbers for emergencies occurring outside normal hours, that is, from 5pm to 9am, at weekends and on bank holidays:

• Social care emergencies: 01733 234724
• Highway and street lighting emergencies: 0845 604 3127 (calls cost 5p per minute plus your telephone company's network access charge)
• Any other emergency out of normal business hours: 01733 864157

Online reporting

Through its online reporting system, citizens can report issues related to missed household bin collections, damaged household bins, overflowing public litter bins, fly-tipping, litter, graffiti, broken glass and debris removal. It also allows reporting of potholes, abandoned vehicles, public drains, traffic signals, signage and street lighting.

Citizen participation and communication

The council states its commitment to listening to residents' views to improve the services it provides, and offers a specific channel for complaints and feedback. It also has a jobs portal to view council vacancies and a communications team to handle press enquiries, interview requests, filming and photography.

Location and contact

Peterborough City Council, Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1HF