Once hailed as the jewel of Peterborough’s Fletton Quays regeneration, the half-built Hilton Hotel now casts a long shadow over the city’s finances. The 168-room riverside development, meant to anchor the council’s £120 million redevelopment scheme, has stood idle for more than two years, with water seeping into its structure and pigeons nesting in unfinished corners.
The troubled project returns to Cabinet on 2 October 2025, where councillors must decide whether to let administrators sell the site or take back control. However, the public will again be shut out from the most crucial details. Financial, legal, and commercial information is confined to exempt appendices, leaving taxpayers unable to see the figures shaping the council’s options.
The Council first backed the Hilton scheme in September 2017, lending up to £15 million to developers. Construction began in March 2020 but was soon hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic. In June 2022, the project suffered a major blow when the main contractor went into liquidation, leaving the build exposed to rising costs. By October 2023, the council, as primary creditor, had appointed administrators, turning the Hilton dream into a financial nightmare.
Cabinet papers reveal taxpayers have already shouldered £17.9 million, including loan advances, interest write-offs, administration fees, and council project costs. Additional funds would be needed if the council chose to complete the build, with urgent repairs alone estimated at over £1.3 million.
Councillors face three broad options: allow administrators to sell, acquire and resell the site “as is,” or acquire and complete the build themselves. Independent advisers have concluded disposal is the only financially viable route, though final sale proceeds are expected to fall short of money already spent.
The Hilton saga is more than a stalled hotel. A completed site could boost local regeneration, creating jobs and attracting visitors, but taking on the project poses high financial and operational risks. Every million spent on salvaging the build adds borrowing costs, drawing funds away from frontline services.
If Cabinet follows officers’ recommendations, administrators will launch a full marketing process, potentially completing a sale by summer 2026. Until then, the empty Hilton stands as a stark reminder of the fine line between ambition and fiscal reality in Peterborough.
