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 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 […]
Last week I met with David Statham the Managing Director of Southeastern trains to discuss the disruption to services caused by the closure of the Folkestone to Dover line. This line will be out of action for many months until work is completed to rebuild the seawall and viaduct carrying the railway. The consequences of […]
The damage done to the Folkestone to Dover railway line, caused by the erosion of the sea wall along the coastal stretch of the track, would appear to be far worse than was originally thought. It is important that the maintenance is carried out as swiftly as possible, working as they have to within the […]
This Christmas the news has been full of terrible images of flooding in the north of England, and our sympathies go to everyone who has been driven out of their homes. We should also thank the emergency services who have worked so hard over the last week to help them. We are fortunate in Kent […]
At Christmas, as we gather around the crib for the nativity service we are asked, like the shepherds and wise men over 2,000 years ago, to follow the bright star to Bethlehem. Yet, throughout 2015, the eyes of the world appear to have been fixed just over 100 miles further east, to Syria and the […]
We have seen massive steps forward in education in our area over the last ten years. There are more opportunities now for young people to reach their full potential through education than ever before. The Folkestone School for Girls and the Harvey Grammar, continue to get excellent results, but we have also seen fantastic strides […]