BrightVisions is arguably the best IT Support Specialist serving the Peterborough area. As BrightVisions is based in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, (just south of Peterborough) it is easy and convenient for businesses based in Peterborough to use BrightVisions as their preferred IT Partner.

Peterborough is a cathedral city, situated on the River Nene, in the East of England, with a population of about 162,000 people. For ceremonial purposes Peterborough forms part of the county of Cambridgeshire, but for all other purposes it is a unitary authority area, bordering Northamptonshire and Rutland to the west, Lincolnshire to the north, and Cambridgeshire to the south and east. The surrounding area is particularly flat and low-lying (lying below sea level in some places), the area known as the Fens lies to the east of Peterborough.

BrightVisions Links to Peterborough

BrightVisions has a growing number of customers based in Peterborough, these clients typically subscribe to BrightVisions’ IT Support Services and make intermittent use of their IT Support and other IT Services.

Some of BrightVisions’ employees commute (into work at BrightVisions) from Peterborough. The A1(M) connecting St Neots (where BrightVisions is based) and Peterborough makes this a relatively quick and convenient commute.

More about Peterborough and the Surrounding Area

Peterborough became autonomous of Cambridgeshire county council when the unitary authority of Peterborough was formed in 1998, however the city continues to form part of Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes and policing & fire and rescue services remain the responsibility of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary (although the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, one of few of its kind, effectively functions as a retained fire station).

The City's Economy

Regeneration

Peterborough has experienced an economic boom compared to the rest of the country in recent years, due in part to the regeneration plan that is currently in operation and will be running to 2012.

In 2005 economic growth was on average 5.5%, whilst in Peterborough it was 6.9% (the highest in the UK). Figures related to growth from 1995 to 2004 reveal that Peterborough is now the most successful economy among unitary authorities in the East of England. The figures also reveal that the city's economy is growing faster than the East of England average and any other economy in the region.

Furthermore, Peterborough leads the UK’s business population growth, with a 3.78% increase between April and September 2006 (according to the Royal Mail’s Business Barometer).

The Environment

Peterborough has a strong economy in the environmental goods and services sector and has the largest group of environmental businesses in the UK. In 1994 Peterborough was designated one of four environment cities in the UK and it is currently working to become the UK's acknowledged environment capital.

Travel by Road

Despite its large-scale growth, Peterborough has the fastest peak and off-peak travel times for a city of its size in the UK, due to the parkways that criss-cross the city. According to the Local Transport Plan the city is expecting to spend about £180 million for the period up to 2010 on major road works to accommodate development.

The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is a 80 km (50 mile) network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways which provide continuous routes around the city with radiating spokes connecting to the city centre. The project has also created a sculpture trail, with functional and landscape artwork along the Green Wheel route. The Living Landmarks Project involves the local community in the creation of local landscape features such as mini woodlands, ponds and hedgerows along the route.
Another, long distance footpath, the Hereward Way, runs from Oakham in Rutland, through Peterborough, to East Harling in Norfolk.

Demographics

Language and Ethnicity

Peterborough has one of the largest concentrations of Italian immigrants in the UK, mainly as a result of labour recruitment in the 1950’s. The city hosts an estimated 16,000 eastern Europeans (one tenth of the population), immigrants from EU accession states.

The number of languages in use is growing and there is now a diverse set of languages spoken in the city. Peterborough now also offer classes in Italian, Urdu and Punjabi in its primary schools.

Religion

Christianity has the largest following in Peterborough. The Church of England has a significant number of parish churches in the area and a Cathedral in the City. The Roman Catholic population has also increased substantially due mainly to immigration. The latest church to be constructed is a £7 million non-denominational “superchurch” which can seat up to 1,800 worshippers at a service.

However, in comparison with the rest of the country, Peterborough has a lower proportion of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Sikhs, but a higher percentage of Muslims than the national average with two large mosques based in the city.

Culture

Education

Peterborough High School, which caters for girls up to 18 and boys up to 11 years old, is the city’s only independent boarding school.

Five of the city's 15 secondary schools were closed in July 2007 and are to be demolished over the coming years; John Mansfield, Hereward (formerly Eastholm) and Deacon's were replaced with the flagship Thomas Deacon Academy, designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank which opened in September 2007. The Voyager School, which has specialist media arts status, replaced Bretton Woods and Walton comprehensive. The remaining schools will be extended and enlarged.

Peterborough has two colleges of further education; Peterborough Regional College (attracting over 15,000 students each year and ranked in the top five per cent of colleges in the UK) and Peterborough College of Adult Education.

IT Support in Peterborough

Cambridge has traditionally been the IT capital of the East of England, with many Information Technology companies based in and around the city of Cambridge. BrightVisions has always been based in, and operated around Cambridgeshire, where there is stiff competition among companies specialising in IT Support.

The fact that BrightVisions has become the preferred IT Partner for many Cambridgeshire based companies, that it has won the Hunts Post Small Business of the Year award and never lost a customer as a result of the quality of their work is attributed to the values of uncompromising quality and integrity of BrightVisions.

For more information about activities that BrightVisions participate in, in and around Peterborough, visit our News Pages.