A groundbreaking ceremony has marked the start of major redevelopment work at Peterborough United's London Road ground.

The Leader of Peterborough City Council, Councillor Marco Cereste joined Peterborough United’s Chief Executive Bob Symns and senior representatives from contractors Kier Construction at London Road on Monday 13 January 2014 to see first-hand the status of the project.

The former Moy’s End stand, which was demolished last month, will now be replaced by a 2,560 all-seater stand which will also include a specialist education and skills centre. The grounds are currently being prepared for the construction of the new stand in March.

Councillor Cereste said: "We are on the verge of having a community stadium this city can be really proud of. It was quite a sight seeing the old stand coming down last month, but what will now replace it will be fantastic and a vast difference to what has been there since the early 1950s.

"I am delighted to be able to mark the start of the transformation of the football ground into an all-seater stadium and the creation of a skills centre. I can’t wait to see it completed.

"The skills centre is vitally important as it will ensure our young people are highly skilled when leaving education and starting work, giving us a better skilled workforce and our young people the best possible start in life."

Mr Symns added: "This is a magnificent step forward for both the football club and Peterborough City Council in regard to outstanding new facilities for both our supporters and the local community. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication by all parties, but the long-term benefit will have been well worth the wait."

The cost of the development is £9.5 million.

Dennis Cotton, Kier Construction director, said: “We’re delighted to be a part of this exciting scheme for Peterborough - there are not many contracts where we need to act as ball boys and I have had no shortage of Kier Posh fans offering to work on the project! The demolition of the Moy’s End stand went smoothly and we are now looking forward to seeing the new stand and skills centre come out of the ground.”

The Mayor of Peterborough Councillor June Stokes and Councillor Janet Goodwin, Cabinet Adviser to the Leader on Business Engagement, Tourism and International Links, will also attend the ground breaking ceremony.

The new stand is due to be completed by the end of October 2014, with the specialist education and skills centre then opening in November 2014.