I hope you all had a pleasant Easter, I have been able to spend some time with my family over the holidays here in Lancashire. It’s back to normal duties now and as you can imagine Westminster is very busy at the moment.
I was delighted to meet Churchtown residents in order to discuss the recent flooding. I would like to thank the Churchtown Flood Defence Group for arranging the meeting at short notice. During the meeting I spoke of how important it is to get all agencies around the table in order to discuss how we can learn from the recent flooding and try to minimise the risk in the future. It was extremely helpful to listen to the experiences of residents and their opinions.
My post bag often contains letters expressing concerns about the state of roads and potholes. With this in mind, I am delighted that new dedicated funding of over £1.2m from the Government will be made available to fill over 23,000 potholes in Lancashire. I’ve been campaigning for a long time for greater investment in road repairs, and I’m encouraging LCC to make full use of their allocation locally.
I also have received many concerns about bus services especially in rural areas. It seems that the recent cuts to subsidised buses is hitting the rural areas disproportionately. This is County Council’s responsibility and I would like to assure residents that I am continuing to meet with the leadership at County Hall to raise concerns.
I know that many of you are concerned about the numerous planning applications. I continue to press for Wyre Council to step up its drive to finalise a local plan.
On a brighter note, I was delighted to visit Claylands Park which has won the Lancashire Holiday Park of the Year award. I am always keen to find out about businesses in the constituency and the challenges they face. Please do not hesitate to contact my Office if you would like me to visit your business.
I would like to urge all residents to use their vote both in the forthcoming Local and Police Crime Commissioner elections on 5 May and the European referendum which is on the 23rd of June.
I continue to meet residents at my advice surgeries covering a wide range of issues, please remember if you would like to attend one, the most effective way to contact me is by e-mail, with a brief description of the issues and your contact details. Although often I can address issues without the need for a meeting.
If I can be of any assistance to you please ring my Office at the House of Commons on 0207 219 5804 or my Constituency Office on 01995 672977, email me at [email protected] or write to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.