Last Friday I welcomed the Minister for Sport, and Faversham MP, Hugh Robertson to the Romney Resource Centre in New Romney. We were there to mark the launch of the alternative curriculum education provision being delivered by the Charlton Athletic Community Trust. This is one of the most challenging areas of education, and one of […]
Last week the Boundary Commission published its proposals to reform the size of constituencies across England. This work is part of delivering the commitment of the Government to reduce the number of MPs in parliament to 600, and also to make individual constituencies more equal in size. This is important as some currently have less […]
Good quality infrastructure is vital to supporting businesses and creating jobs. In today’s economy high speed broadband is an essential tool both at work and increasingly in the home. On Tuesday British Telecom announced that it will be installing the latest super fast broadband technology for residents in Hythe as part of its £2.5 billion […]
It’s the start of a new term for parliament and a new year for schools and colleges up and down the country. I would like to send my best wishes to everyone who is starting a new school or college this September and to those entering their final year before GCSE or A level exams. […]
This summer would seem to have been good to local tourism and businesses, helped in part by both the Folkestone Triennial and the Open Championship at Sandwich. Visit Kent’s current marketing campaign has been one of its most successful ever, and their website proudly features as its main image, kite surfing on the beach at […]
Last Wednesday I joined the crowds of thousands of people who enjoyed the Hythe Venetian fete, which is now in its one hundred and fifty first year. It was wonderful to see so many local schools, businesses and community groups, from right across the district represented amongst the entries of floats. Congratulations should go as […]
Getting our economy moving and creating news jobs is one of the main challenges we face as a country and I want our district to be leading the way. I believe that we need an agenda that is unashamedly pro growth, and also a plan to achieve it. There has been some more good news […]
Last Sunday I joined the hundreds of people who turned out to support the Step Short First World War memorial march in Folkestone. This is the third annual march and is held on the first Sunday of August to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War. The march commemorates the sacrifices made […]
Last Saturday, along with Sarah and the children, we joined the crowds at New Romney Country Fayre. Now in its seventeenth year it is a fixture of summer on the Marsh and once again it enjoyed perfect weather. It was great to see so many local businesses and voluntary groups taking part and a record […]
There has been a real buzz about the area this summer and particularly in Folkestone since the launch of the Triennial arts festival just over a month ago. Businesses are reporting more customers and sales up over 10% based on the same period last year. The Creative Foundation has calculated that over 30,000 visitors came […]