Let’s not sell Romney Marsh short; I believe it has and deserves a
better future than being the dumping ground for all of Britain’s high
level nuclear waste. Shepway Council has started a consultation to ask
whether residents want to find out more about building this
underground storage facility here and my view, and that of the Marsh’s
County Councillor Carole Waters, is that the answer should be no. This
process is not being driven by the Government or Kent and we cannot be
made to have it if we don’t want it.
If this project were to go ahead we need to consider what it would
mean for the environment of Romney Marsh. Firstly the land area on the
surface for this storage facility would cover 250 acres; a space large
enough to include a building the size of the new Wembley Stadium more
than 22 times over. The rubble and debris brought out of the ground
during the construction would be equivalent to the amount brought up
when the Channel Tunnel was built and many readers will remember what
that was like to live with. Then of course they were building a new
connection with Europe supported by high speed rail links, this time
it would just be a hole in the ground. Also, it could not be built
next to the existing power stations on the coast at Dungeness because
of the habitat regulations protecting the shingle, so it would need to
be constructed some distance inland. Where would this be; Brookland,
Old Romney, Ivychurch? At the moment the planners don’t know but
wherever it goes it will change that community forever.
Some people may argue that building this nuclear waste store will
create jobs needed on the Marsh. This is an important issue, and the
need for new jobs is the reason why I have been a strong supporter of
the development of Lydd Airport and will continue to push for a new
nuclear power station at Dungeness. We need these jobs now and I am
concerned that the prospect of building a nuclear store like this, and
all the disruption it will cause will drive other businesses away and
blight the area. No jobs in any case would be created by building
this store until the start of construction in 2025 and it would not be
operating until 2040. There will be additional funds available to
support the community that hosts this store, but only if they agree to
go ahead with it, and not just for consulting on the idea and then
saying ‘no’.
There is every chance that Romney Marsh would not be considered to be
the most appropriate site in any case. In the 1980s and ‘90s the
Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive (NIREX) studied where in
the UK might be suitable for a storage facility like this and
Dungeness and Romney Marsh was not even on their long list of sites;
which did though include other locations with nuclear facilities like
Sellafield, Dounreay and Bradwell. Also, 70% of the high level nuclear
waste that will be stored in this underground facility is currently
being kept in containers on the surface at Sellafield in Cumbria, and
it’s hard to see why the Government would want to transport this by
rail back across the country, and then through London and Kent, if it
could instead by safely stored underground near to where it is now
Google have accepted my invitation to bring their team of advisors to Folkestone in April to help local businesses get more out of the internet, and even to help set them up a website if they don’t yet have one.
The team from Google will be based in Folkestone in the building at the corner of the Old High Street and Tontine Street, which is number 3 to 7 Tontine Street, and will be running their free face to face advice sessions on 23rd and 24th April. You can book a free 40 minute session online at www.gbbo.co.uk/juicebar
This is a great opportunity for all businesses and organisations to see how they can make the internet work harder for them. This initiative is part of a new project backed by Google called ‘Getting British Business Online’ and the advice sessions they are running in Folkestone will be the first they have conducted anywhere in South East England, and Kent will also be only the third area in the UK to have the benefit of these sessions; they have previously only been held so far in Wales and Liverpool.
I would like to thank Naomi Gummer and her colleagues at Google for making this possible and Alastair Upton and the Creative Foundation in Folkestone for providing the space for the advice sessions to take place.
Folkestone has applied to become one of the government’s ‘Portas Pilot Towns’. The selected towns have to come up with a strategy to improve their town centres and in return will receive up to £100,000 from the Government, and the support of Mary Portas as they implement their plans.
As part of the bidding process, towns have to submit a film, which you can view here. Please watch it, share it with your friends and give it a ‘thumbs-up’ by clicking the ‘Like’ icon on YouTube after you have watched the film.
You can watch the film by clicking on the play button below.
The debate over Shepway council’s parking strategy has prompted a
broader discussion about the future of our town centre economies. One
of the greatest areas of concern has been the potential impact
charging people to park on the town centre roads could have on local
businesses. However, we know that there are long term issues that need
to be addressed as well that have been a factor in high street
businesses struggling to compete; not least pressure from out of town
retailers and the rise in popularity in internet shopping. To compete
in the future, town centres need to be vibrant places where people
work, shop, live and want to spend leisure time. It was against this
background that I organised a meeting held at the Burlington Hotel in
Folkestone last Friday to discuss these issues with people involved
directly. This meeting brought together representatives from the
council, chamber of commerce, Go Folkestone and town centre
management, as well as independent retailers, some of the major high
street banks and managers from national chain stores who trade in the
area.
It was an excellent start to bring together people who are all part of
one town centre, but who have such different perspectives on what we
need to do to make it more of a success in the future. It is clear
that we can help each other by working more closely together,
including sharing insights and information about what businesses need
to help them grow, planning events to attract more customers, and
creating a register who owns empty shops and business premises.
The meeting last Friday also agreed to form a new ‘Town Team’ to bring
people together to help take these ideas forward, including making a
submission to the Government for Folkestone to be considered as one of
the ‘Portas Pilot’ towns. These 12 towns will receive funding of up to
£100,000 as well as help and guidance from Mary Portas herself. Whilst
this meeting was largely focused on Folkestone, this approach can be
replicated in other towns and villages across the district. If you
would like to find out more about what has been discussed and planned
so far, please let me know.
More also needs to be done to promote Shepway as an ideal place for
businesses to invest, relocate and grow. This should also include
increasing awareness of the £40million regional growth fund to support
business development and job creation in East Kent. I have recently
started work on a project supported by Kent County Council to really
make sure we make the most of this opportunity and create a proper
marketing campaign to promote the area.
Finally, this week the Government has also launched a £60million Rural
Economy Grant Scheme. This scheme will fund up to 40% of the costs, up
to a maximum grant of £1million, for projects in the following areas;
farm competitiveness; agric-food; tourism; forestry and micro
enterprises such as digital media technology and small scale, high
value manufacturing. Please let me know if you would like more
information about making an application.
I believe that foreign owned road lorries and haulage companies should
make a contribution to the upkeep of Kent’s road network. British
based businesses do this by paying taxes on the fuel they buy here and
of course through their road tax. Apart from the wear and tear on the
roads, we all know that there can be considerable damage to roadsides
and verges caused by lorries parking up. In addition to this there are
the costs of policing Operation Stack. I have argued over the last two
years in this column and with Ministers that there should be a
charging scheme for lorries registered abroad to help cover some of
these costs. I am pleased to report that these calls have been
answered, and the Roads Minister, Mike Penning has announced that the
Government will introduce a Bill into parliament this year to put this
scheme in place.
The Government’s proposed scheme would require all heavy goods
vehicles to pay a charge to use our roads, but that this cost can be
offset against the taxes they pay on fuel. So those lorries that
regularly fill up in the UK, will be no worse off, and those that
don’t will have a charge to pay. Whilst it is not certain yet how much
money the scheme will make, I will certainly be pressing the
government to use some of its proceeds to support Kent’s roads, which
carry so much of the UK’s freight, moving to and from the Channel
Tunnel and Port of Dover.
On Monday evening I joined Emma Flower and her team from the Kent
Youth Service at the Folkestone Youth Project, at the Shed in the
harbour. The Project continues to run a popular youth club and support
the busy skate park. It has also enjoyed considerable success in the
last year in helping young people complete a number of vocational
courses in subjects including fire safety, fitness instruction and
first aid. The Project also works with young people on the Duke of
Edinburgh Award scheme. Over the last year 50 courses have been
completed by young people at The Shed, and I would like to add my
congratulations for their achievement.
Improving broadband speeds and connections remains one of the top
priorities for our area. The Government has set a target that over 90%
all homes in Britain should have access to broadband speeds of a least
2mbps by 2015; although of course many homes will have a much faster
service. Meeting this target would also give Britain the best
broadband network in Europe. The Department of Culture, Media and
Sport has made over £700m available to local authorities to help
deliver this and has now given its approval for Kent’s broadband plan.
This means that the county is on target to complete this important
upgrade of broadband services.
Finally, I would like to thank readers who responded to my article
last week about the rising premiums for flood insurance. Please do
send me any information you can if in the last year you have either
found it difficult to insure your home, or have seen a significant
rise in your premiums
Do you think you are being ripped off by your home insurer? Have you
recently tried to get insurance for your home and either been declined
or asked to pay a high premium because you were told you live in a
flood risk area? If so I would like you to send me information about
your experience to add to a document I am preparing to take up with
the insurance industry. There have long been complaints that insurers
are over charging residents in Shepway and not taking into account the
large investment in flood defences along the coast when setting their
premiums. How many residents for example have seen their premiums fall
since the completion of the new £60million sea wall at Dymchurch? Not
many would be my guess. I have also received complaints in the past
that insurers looking at flood maps have treated drainage ditches and
canals on Romney Marsh as if they were rivers and streams; which are a
much greater flood risk. If you look on the Environment Agency’s map
of the area it does show that the low lying areas of Romney Marsh are
vulnerable to flooding, but this displays what the extent could be if
there were no sea defences, but of course there are significant
defences. I’m concerned that some people are being asked to pay too
much for their home insurance, and this needs to be put right. This
view is also shared by members of Shepway District Council.
Last week there were further concerning reports about the future of
flood insurance cover for homes in Shepway and in particular Romney
Marsh. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) which represents the
companies stated that if there isn’t a new agreement in place between
the industry and government when the current one expires in 2013, then
people who live in flood risk areas may not get the cover they need.
It is worth stating however that there are ongoing discussions between
the government and the insurers and it is planned that the details of
a new agreement will be published in the spring this year. The basis
of this agreement is that the insurers have confidence that the
government is committed to spending the money required to maintain
flood defences. I have though written to the ABI asking for a meeting
to discuss these issues.
The Government is spending over £2 billion on flood defence works over
the period from 2011 to 2015. Last summer we saw the completion of the
new £60million sea wall at Dymchurch which has been designed protect
the 2,500 homes in the immediate vicinity for the next 100 years.
There are ongoing works to maintain the shingle flood defences along
the coast from Folkestone to Dungeness, and I have also been working
alongside the local ‘Defend Our Coast’ group to ensure that the
government is aware of our future investment needs. I would like to
add my thanks to Terry Preston, Cllr Tony Hills, Brigitte Bass and
everyone involved with ‘Defend Our Coast’ for all their work on this
important issue. Flood defence is always an ongoing project.
On Friday this week I am meeting with Martyn Jackson who owns and runs
the Landau store in Sandgate Road and Daniel Sangiuseppe from
Folkestone’s Burlington Hotel. They are both representing local
retailers and hoteliers in the town who are concerned about what the
impact could be on their businesses if a new regime of charging people
to park on the town centre roads is introduced. I share their concerns
and believe that this would be the wrong decision for Folkestone and
the rest of Shepway. The council is currently running the first stage
of its consultation on the parking strategy for Folkestone and I would
urge all residents to make sure that their voice is heard.
The excellent Christmas initiatives run by Shepway over the last three
years where you can park for free on the last major shopping weekend
before the holidays, has demonstrated that when parking is easier and
cheaper, more people come in to town. Martyn Jackson has also prepared
and excellent presentation looking at the locations of empty shops in
the centre of Folkestone. This largely shows that businesses can
struggle on roads with poor access. So, for example, there are more
empty shops on pedestrian and one-way roads like Guildhall Street and
Tontine Street, than the western end of Sandgate Road where there is
two way traffic and you can park. This would strike many people as
common sense, but I think shows that the current debate about parking
in the centre of town opens up a broader issue about how we try to
create the right conditions to support businesses and create new jobs.
The review conducted for the Government by Mary Portas on the future
of our high streets and town centres, makes a number of
recommendations on how we can support them. These include reducing car
parking charges and trying to attract a range of unique, independent
businesses that help to give our high streets character and vibrancy.
We are fortunate to have a range established independent businesses,
in addition to the investment in the Old Town area of Folkestone from
the Creative Foundation. We also have a wealth of events and festivals
across the year to bring in visitors. I believe we should also
consider what more needs to be done. For example, should we look again
at the way traffic flows are managed in the town or if some of the old
pedestrians schemes are still appropriate. I would welcome your ideas
on this. The Localism Act passed by parliament last year also gives
new powers to councils in the way they can set businesses rates. From
April council’s will have the power to offer bigger discretionary
reductions in business rates. This means reductions could be offered
to struggling smaller businesses, or particular types of businesses
which have low margins but whose presence helps make a high street
more vibrant; like an independent baker or green grocer for example;
or even a locality where economic conditions make trading difficult.
All of this costs money which is why there needs to be a proper debate
about what we want our town centres to be like and how this can be
resourced. The Local Government Finance Bill currently before
parliament will also give councils new powers to borrow money against
future business rate receipts to invest in improving the
infrastructure of the local economy.
I know that people really want to see the Government taking action to
cut red tape and bureaucracy, particularly when it gets in the way of
voluntary groups and organisations from putting on events. One of the
issues that has often come up in the last two years has been the
requirement for small venues wanting to host live music events to
obtain an entertainment license from the council. These can be pubs
and clubs for whom the cost and time of applying for these licenses is
prohibitive, even if they hold regular events. It can be even more so
for a music event that people want to organise to support a special
occasion, like the Hythe festival or even for The Queen’s diamond
jubilee this year. So I’m pleased to report that last Friday
parliament passed a Bill to scrap this requirement; cutting
bureaucracy and expense, and making it easier for pubs and clubs to
host live performances. This will be good news for local venues and
artists and also marks the end of a long campaign from UK Music, and
their outgoing chief executive, the Irish pop star Feargal Sharkey.
Folkestone based Louie and Di Burns have become a fixture in the local
music scene through their events company Bluesky Pie. They will be
moving to Brighton in the summer, but to share their expertise in
organising music events and festivals they are organising a free
seminar on 7th March, at K College in Folkestone between 12pm and 5pm.
If you would like more information about this, you can contact them
directly or I will be happy to forward on your details.
Last week, along with members of the House of Commons select committee
for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, I visited the Olympic Park at
Stratford. Our visit was to assess the work that has been done so far
to get London ready for the games; and it is very impressive. Out of a
derelict and polluted wasteland, some of the best sport facilities in
the world have been created, alongside Europe’s largest retail park
and accommodation that after the games will provide homes for 30,000
people. It’s good that this is ready now, and that the athletes won’t
be able to smell wet paint as they move in. After the Olympics, the
media centre for the games, which is the equivalent size of Canary
Wharf tower lying on its side, will become a centre for creative and
hi-tech businesses. There is still some debate over who will be the
tenants for the Olympic stadium, but it seems likely that it will be a
venue for a combination of premiership football and international
athletics. After the games the velodrome and the aquatic centre will
be used for competitions but will also be open to the public. It is
exciting to think that all of these facilities will be just 50 minutes
from Folkestone by direct high speed rail. Closer to home Sport
England have also recently approved grants to the Folkestone Sports
centre and the Hythe sports pavilion, as part of their ‘Places People
Play’ Olympic fund. Good local facilities also form an important part
of the legacy of the London 2012 games.
The Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday that there will be 400
redundancies in the Gurkhas; a cut of just over 10%. This is one of a
number of reductions of posts being made across the armed forces. The
reason given by the Ministry of Defence for the loss of Gurkhas posts
is that because they have continued to both recruit strongly, and now
serve individually up to 22 years instead of the previous limit of 15
years, that there are currently more men serving than had been planned
for. Nevertheless, I have written to Phillip Hammond the Defence
Secretary, asking him explain why these redundancies are being made at
a time when we seem to need the Gurkhas more than ever and to reaffirm
his commitment to the regiment. In addition I have asked in which
locations in the UK and around the world that the redundancies will
take place, and over what period of time.
Any loss of posts in the armed forces is regrettable, and we will
always have a special concern about any reduction in the number of
Gurkhas; we rightly feel that they are our regiment. During the
defence review last year, I along with other East Kent MPs pressed the
case to the Secretary of State that the Gurkhas are now and must
remain of vital importance to our armed forces. They have fulfilled an
unique role in the conflict in Afghanistan in particular where they
have conducted four tours of duty. This argument for the Gurkhas has
been won, and whilst we may have concerns about the reduction in
numbers being proposed, there is no question that the regiment will
not continue in the service of our country for many years to come.
On Wednesday this week I met with Alex King, the Deputy Leader of Kent
County Council to discuss the work of an organisation called ‘Funding
Circle’ which provides an alternative funding route for businesses
looking to raise money to support investment. Along with a group of
MPs, I met with Funding Circle before Christmas to discuss their work
and how if might benefit businesses and investors in Kent. The
difficult economic climate still makes raising money to support
business growth a challenge. Funding Circle works by looking to marry
up individuals who would like to invest directly in a company, and in
so doing get a better return than putting their money in the bank,
with organisations who are looking to borrow. I think this model works
particularly well on a local level where investors already have a good
understanding of the market and economic conditions. There are other
organisations that specialise in this kind of non-bank lending, but
you can find about Funding Circle at their website
www.fundingcircle.com
I was very impressed to read about the success of the Folkestone
Academy, in being assessed as being in the top 1% in the country for
the progress its students make during the course of their time at the
school. This is an excellent achievement, and an amazing turnaround
since it replaced the Channel School, which at the time has some of
the worst results in the country. My congratulations go to the
Principal Sean Heslop, and all of the staff and students at the
school
Shepway Council’s formal consultation on its parking strategy for
Folkestone is now underway. There will be a rolling programme of
consultation for other areas of the district over the next year. This
strategy has provoked considerable debate already and I would urge
residents to make sure that their views are heard. Last Friday along
with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and the local business
community, I met with Cllr Malcolm Dearden, the council cabinet member
for parking, and members of the team who are running the consultation.
This meeting was a further chance for us to discuss our concerns about
the potential impact of the strategy for businesses operating in the
town centres of the district. I remain firmly of the opinion that time
limited on the street parking in the town centre shopping areas should
remain free.
I was pleased to note that for the third year running the council
offered free parking in 20 of its car parks in for the shopping
weekend before Christmas. This is an excellent initiative, and when it
was first offered in 2009 led to an increase in shoppers in central
Folkestone of 11% against the same period in the previous year. At
that time the national trend showed a fall in customer numbers, so
this would suggest that low parking charges attract people in to the
town. One point that does come out strongly from the discussions I
have had with people so far is that there is not enough awareness of
some of the existing schemes run by the council that can reduce the
costs of parking for residents. In particular, I’m sure that more
residents could benefit from the parking permit that allows up to
three hours parking everyday of the year for £52. So just £1 a week.
On Tuesday in parliament we debated a major Bill to reform local
government finance that will give councils a fixed percentage for ten
years of the local business rates they collect. If the rates increase
above expectations, they will be able to keep the difference. This,
for the first time in many years, gives councils a financial incentive
to introduce policies to support local businesses. The reforms will
also allow councils to borrow against future business rate receipts to
invest in improving local infrastructure to help create new jobs. I
think these are exciting reforms that could have a positive impact
locally. It would also allow councils to consider with parking, for
example, whether or not increased revenue from charges, could be lost
if business activity declined as a result.
On Wednesday this week I was delighted to be invited to the Chichester
Memorial Hall by the Sandgate Society to give a talk looking back over
my first twenty months as your MP. This was one of a series of monthly
talks run by the Society, and you can find out more about these and
their work on their website www.sandgate-kent.org.uk. The Sandgate
Society also marks its fiftieth anniversary this year, and since 1962
has worked hard to protect and enhance the culture and heritage of the
area. I would like to congratulate them on reaching this significant
jubilee and know that they will continue to go from strength to
strength.
