I recently met with Kent's 'Rural plc', an organisation that promotes investment in countryside and farming businesses across the county. Farming in Kent is a big business. Within the county the farming sector alone is worth £5.4billion, employs 85,000 people and, were it to be viewed as a company, would rank 57th in the FTSE […]
Fast access to the internet is a necessity for modern life, not just part of the entertainment industry. People rely on a good service for their work, and businesses large and small need it to stay in touch with their customers. Increasing numbers of government forms need to be filled in online and many companies […]
I have commissioned a short film to showcase the recently reopened Harbour Arm in Folkestone. It is a fantastic new public space where people from the town love to come and spend time, eat amazing local food and enjoy live entertainment. It is a great symbol of Folkestone's rebirth and continued regeneration and a glimpse into the […]
I recently visited NIC Instruments Limited, in Gladstone Road, Folkestone, and met with the Managing Director, Steve Wisbey and members of his team. NIC is a family run business that has been based in the town for over forty years. The firm originally specialised in medical equipment, but is now a world leader in the […]
The announcement from the Folkestone Harbour company that it is about to commence the next stage in the redevelopment of the town’s seafront is excellent news for the whole district. Following substantial investment from Roger De Haan and over £5million in funding that we have secured from the government, work will start on some of […]
Last week was English Tourism week and on the Friday I met with Sandra Matthews-Marsh, the chief executive of Visit Kent, to discuss the importance of this vital industry to our county. Tourism is one of our largest employers, and accounts for around 12% of all jobs in Kent. Whilst visitors from the rest of […]
On 4th August 2014, we marked the centenary of out break of the First World War when Prince Harry visited Folkestone to unveil the Step Short memorial arch. This is dedicated to the memory of all who served in that conflict, and in particular to the millions of soldiers from around the world, who made […]
On Monday morning this week the French authorities started to clear the south side of the camp of temporary shelters, known as the Calais Jungle. People living in the camp are being encouraged to take up accommodation from the French authorities, and priority is being given to children and women. France is also offering refugees […]
Last Friday I joined Jacques Gounon, the Chairman of Eurotunnel, to officially open the new access area for road freight joining the tunnel’s services at Folkestone. This completes a major investment from Eurotunnel in improving the speed and efficiency of its operations in Kent, that will help both freight, and passengers travelling in private cars […]
This week the former Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, Rob Whiteman, warned that Kent could receive an additional 50,000 asylum seekers a year if Britain were to leave the European Union. His comments came after the Prime Minister stated that outside of the EU, there was a real risk that France would cancel […]