The Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP, has confirmed that he will be coming to Folkestone and Hythe to meet with local businesses and the fishermen, who are affected by the marine conservation zone proposals for Hythe Bay. This will be the first time that a Fisheries Minister has visited our area officially for many years. In a special debate in the House of Commons I organised last week, the Minister made this commitment which will give us the chance to put our case to Richard Benyon directly. I also used this debate to stress that the proposals as currently presented would be completely unacceptable to the local fishing industry and the businesses it supports. We want the current rules to apply, which allow for the continued sustainable fishing of these waters.
Last Tuesday evening I was delighted to accept the invitation of the Hythe Rotary Club to come and speak at their meeting at Etchinghill Golf Club. We have a strong network of local rotary clubs who perform a great public service raising money to support local good causes. Amongst the topics we discussed was East Kent’s bid to become the UK City of Culture for 2017. Later in the week I also met with Chris Hespe and Sarah Dance, who are leading the bid team, to discuss the formal presentation of their proposals this Tuesday. I would like to wish them all the best of luck, and we will keep our fingers crossed for positive news on the bid next month.
On Friday I joined the meeting of the Folkestone Town Team, hosted by Daniel Sangiuseppe at the Burlington Hotel. One of the hot topics for discussion was proposed changes to the parking arrangements in the town centre. Like many residents and businesses, I was critical of the council’s original proposals when they were published over 18 months ago, but big improvements have since been made. The Parking Forum, which has been extremely well led by Danny Brook, has put a number of further suggestions to the council, and as a result of their work, and some other proposals from Shepway; we could soon have more free on street parking places in busy areas like Sandgate Road in Folkestone, than we had before the original changes were made. I hope that this constructive dialogue can continue and that there can be an open discussion if further changes are required in the future.
Later on Friday morning I joined Michele Philips, the manager of Irene Astor Court, in St John’s Street, Folkestone for a coffee morning with the residents, where we had an interesting discussion of local issues. In the evening, following my constituency advice surgeries, I called in at an Art Exhibition at 46, The Old High Street in Folkestone, organised by St Peter’s Primary School. Pupils at the school had created works which were on display in the gallery space, and were being sold to raise money for the school. It was a fantastic collection of work which remained on show over the weekend, and a really innovative approach to fundraising. I would also like to thank the many local businesses who supported this project, and the Creative Foundation who provided them with the space.