Peterborough this week: Five stories you might have missed

An uprooted tree toppled on to houses during Storm Bert

This week apartment block residents told us they felt trapped by rising charges, a tree toppled on to houses during Storm Bert and people gathered to honour a hospital volunteer who died while on shift a year ago.

Here are five stories from the past seven days in Peterborough to keep you up to date, plus a round-up of sporting and political stories you might have missed.

'Our flat insurance has gone up by £79,000'

Mr Ferguson described increasing insurance charges as "scandalous"

A man who moved into an apartment block said leaseholders' insurance charges had risen by about £79,000 in six years.

Semi-retired Michael Ferguson moved into his Spring View home in Peterborough in 2016 and has been paying service charges to Premier Estates, a management company appointed by developer, Morris Homes.

Since he moved in, leaseholders said insurance costs increased from about £14,000 annually, six-years ago, to £93,000 last year.

Mr Ferguson said: "It doesn't seem fair and premiums just keep going up and up and up." Premier Estates said it was committed to ensuring value and quality and charges remained under frequent review.

Uprooted tree lands on houses amid Storm Bert

Raja Sabeel Ahmed said it was fortunate no-one had been hurt

A tree was uprooted and landed on two houses during strong winds from Storm Bert.

The tree, which was taller than the two-storey terraced properties, toppled on to the houses at Swanspool in Peterborough at about 12:00 GMT on Sunday.

Ward councillor Raja Sabeel Ahmed said residents of Ravensthorpe contacted him within minutes of it happening and he called the city council's out-of-hours contractors to remove the tree.

"Luckily, no person was injured and it caused only minor damage to the houses," he said.

Tree to honour volunteer who died while on shift

A remembrance tree was dedicated to Paul Watts, who spent a decade volunteering

A hospital volunteer has been remembered one year after he died while on shift.

A remembrance tree was dedicated to Paul Watts, who spent a decade volunteering at Peterborough City Hospital and the Cancer Wellbeing Service.

The volunteer team marked the anniversary with a potted acer tree, which will be put in a revamped staff reflection garden.

Head of volunteering, Carol North, said: "Paul was one of the few volunteers that contributed hundreds of hours when we needed it most."

Council to debate community library under threat

Supporters of the library say it has become an important community hub

A petition to save a 73-year-old library under threat of closure and extend its opening hours will be debated by councillors.

Woodston Library in Peterborough is one of several community buildings the city council has considered selling to plug a black hole in its finances.

Some 764 people signed a petition to keep the facility open and to "develop the library as a real community hub".

Mohammed Jamil, Peterborough City Council's deputy council leader, said it was "looking at all options regarding the library's future use" and welcomed feedback from residents.

Plea as patients to be discharged before lunchtime

The "home for my lunch" campaign has been set up by the local NHS

Hospitals in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are urging families and friends of patients to be ready for them to be discharged during the mornings, as winter approaches.

The local NHS said leaving hospital before midday had "significant benefits" for patients and helped "reduce pressures on the hospitals and staff".

Loved ones are being called upon to take people home or arrange transport, and to prepare their homes with the heating on and food in the cupboard.

Chief nurse Carol Anderson said: "Staying in a hospital bed longer than you need can put you at risk and has a significant negative impact on your mental and physical wellbeing.

A week in Peterborough sport

Darren Ferguson is in his fourth spell as Peterborough manager

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson bemoaned his players' defensive efforts after they lost 2-1 at home against Reading in League One.

Only Blackpool have conceded more goals in the league than Posh this season.

Ferguson said if players continued to underperform, he would have to take action.

Peterborough Sports continued their unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw against Radcliffe in the National League North on Tuesday.

The Turbines are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions.

And in Ice Hockey, Peterborough Phantoms suffered their first double-defeat weekend of the season with loses to Romford and Leeds.

They host Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday at the Bretton Rink.

A week in Peterborough politics

White Ribbon Day aimed to raise awareness of domestic abuse

Cross-party politicians started the week by marking White Ribbon Day, a campaign to end violence against women and girls.

Labour politicians have been talking about the expansion of the Tiger Pass scheme, which guarantees £1 bus fares for under-25s.

Conservatives welcomed the selection of ex- Peterborough MP Paul Bristow as their party’s candidate to take on Labour’s Dr Nik Johnson in next year’s Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election.

And the city council published an interim report about its finances this week, which suggested borrowing stood at half a billion pounds and that its reserves are due to be slashed by 81%.