Since the 1990s,
Loughborough University operated a satellite higher education campus in Peterborough. However, it was closed in 2003, leaving the city as one of the largest urban areas in the country without a dedicated provision of higher education. At around this time, Peterborough Regional College (a local
further education college) was offering a limited range of higher education diplomas and degrees in conjunction with
Anglia Ruskin University. In 2006, the two institutions began talks on developing a new university campus for the city and created a new
joint venture company in 2007. The joint venture company, limited by guarantee, was managed by an equal number of directors from both partner institutions who were responsible for the academic and operational running of the new centre. The University Centre Peterborough formally opened in October 2009 with 850 students. However, the joint venture was dissolved in 2020, and University Centre Peterborough became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Inspire Education Group. Anglia Ruskin University opened a separate campus in Peterborough. ==Today==