The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) mayoral election takes place on Thursday, May 1. Five candidates are in the running, including Paul Bristow (Conservative), Ryan Coogan (Reform), Lorna Dupre ( Liberal Democrats ), Bob Ensch (Green Party) and Anna Smith (Labour).
A combined authority mayor makes important decisions for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and is responsible for a £20 million annual budget. They also have devolved powers to spend up to £800 million on local housing, infrastructure, and jobs.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) sat down with Reform UK candidate Ryan Coogan to discuss his plans for Peterborough if elected on May 1. The LDRS has invited all five candidates for interviews, which will be published in the run up to the election.
Who is Ryan Coogan?
Originally from Newmarket, Ryan Coogan moved to Soham in 1989 and attended The Weatheralls School, Soham Village College, and later Hills Road College in Cambridge. Starting his career working on local farms, he now lives with his family in Waterbeach and owns a number of businesses.
He said: "I've probably got more time now than I've ever had in my life. I sold out of my trading company a couple of years ago and that's given me a lot of extra time."
Mr Coogan still runs some small businesses which he says look after themselves. "My days are very much free to get stuck into improving the lives of people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough," he said.
What are Ryan Coogan's plans for Peterborough if elected?
"I love Peterborough, it's always had a soft spot in my heart. As a child, I used to come here with my mum as it was her favourite place to go shopping," Mr Coogan said. "Some of my businesses have also been focused around Peterborough like the depot on Orton Southgate.
"I've done a lot of work for the homeless around here and also job seekers, working inside the job centres trying to inspire people into changing their mental attitudes to work."
One of Mr Coogan's main pledges for Peterborough is to scrap parking fees and get the city centre "thriving". He said: "I'm all for entrepreneurs and people wanting to get a leg up in life and I see town and city centres as a massive part of that.
"I want to see markets thriving here, I want to see business thriving. I really want to pull down those barriers to opportunity in the city. I think over the last five or 10 years, that vibrancy has started to turn down a few notches, but we need to fire the Bunsen burner back up by providing it with a bit more gas at the bottom to really drive things through.
"This is a city where economic growth happens and the great people of Peterborough make that happen every single day. We need to use that as a catalyst to push it forward."
A number of candidates have put forward ideas to rebuild a regional pool for the city centre following the closure of the pool on Bishop's Road. Mr Coogan said he would support the idea of a new pool if it was what the people of Peterborough wanted and it was financially viable, noting that pools "bring so much benefit to the community".
He said: "I'm very data driven, I like to listen to people. If the residents of Peterborough say this is something we want, but let's build back better and stronger, then absolutely." Mr Coogan also wants to form a DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) team for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, similar to the one seen in the USA, to root out unnecessary spending.
"Cutting waste in Cambridgeshire and putting all that money back into frontline services and tax cuts, is absolutely what the people here want," he said. "And that's what I'm going to deliver."
Why Ryan Coogan believes you should vote for him
Mr Coogan said: "The mayor role, as much as everybody thinks is about buses due to the previous failed administration, needs someone with business class. It needs someone with integrity, someone who is actually going to drive Cambridgeshire and Peterborough forward.
"As far as I can see, I'm the only candidate in the election that is talking about delivery and what I can do, not talking about pie in the sky and investments that can't happen. I'm talking about having serious discussions with investors, bankers, entrepreneurs, business people, the great universities we have, and pulling everybody around a table and saying 'what do we need?'."
The election results will be announced at the Ross Peers Sports Centre in Soham on Friday, May 2.
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