If approved, the car park would be built on council-owned land set back from Bishops Road next to the regional swimming pool.

It would allow the council to lease 128 spaces on the pool's existing car park to the new ARU Peterborough campus, which opens next September.

The new car park would be part funded (£827,000) by a successful Getting Building Fund grant - a government fund to deliver jobs, skills and infrastructure - with the remaining £500,000 coming from council’s capital funding. Funding from leasing the old car park would be used to cover the cost of borrowing.

Cllr Peter Hiller, the council's cabinet member for planning, said: “The new university is key for the future success of our city and while we will be encouraging students, workers and visitors to walk and cycle, there needs to be proper car parking provision.

"This will particularly be the case for Phase Two, the research building for established and start-up companies, with construction planned to complete in December 2022.

“The current regional pool car park is close by and would be perfect for this. It would also mean that land on [the] university campus could be utilised in future for a later university building, of which funding is currently being sought through the government’s Levelling Up fund.”

The matter will be discussed at the next cabinet meeting on Monday (October 25).