Good afternoon! Another warm welcome to my regular e-newsletter where you can read what I have been doing as your local Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon. This edition covers my work in the first quarter of 2024.
With Spring quickly approaching, it's been a busy start to 2024 as your Member of Parliament both in the constituency, and in Westminster. I have continued to get out and about to every corner of the constituency, having attended a wide range of meetings, events, and surgeries.
I hold regular surgeries and have been handling many hundreds of requests for help and support from my constituents. You may get a feel for the range of issues I can help with below. As ever, if you are a constituent of mine and require my help or advice with any issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be delighted to hear from you.
The Second Dartmoor Forum
On Friday the 15th March, I convened the second Dartmoor Forum at the Bedford Hotel, Tavistock, following on from the first held at Two Bridges in the summer of 2022. This one was dedicated to "Implementing the Fursdon Review”.
I was extremely grateful to the DEFRA Secretary of State, Steve Barclay MP, Chairman of the Review on the Management of Protected Sites on Dartmoor, David Fursdon, CEO of Natural England, Marian Spain, and President of the NFU, Tom Bradshaw, for attending and engaging in a constructive and important discussion on the future management of Dartmoor. The audience included many local farming families as well as representatives of organisations such as the Dartmoor National Park Authority, the Devon Wildlife Trust, and others.
This was a critical opportunity to influence the Government’s response to the Review, which will be published in the Spring, and I was very pleased to see so many with a keen interest in our Moor, attending and participating.
Those who attended were able to make representations and describe their experiences to the Secretary of State, and the discussions were assisted by David Fursdon’s informative explanations of his thinking and of the balance he and the panel had attempted to achieve in his report, as well as by the direct responses of the CEO of Natural England and the national President of the NFU.
I am delighted that David Fursdon’s Review is already promoting a new departure in the relationships on which a new collaborative future for Dartmoor will depend. This meeting continued that momentum, and the Secretary of State committed the Government to providing the financial support and impetus for the new approach, and for the innovative structures recommended by the Review, to succeed.
I strongly believe that we now have a generational opportunity to safeguard the livelihoods of farming communities on Dartmoor, as well as of the precious Dartmoor ponies, and bring about significant improvements in the health of its natural landscape. I will continue to work towards this important goal over the coming months.
Torridge Levelling Up Partnership Board meets for the first time
Today, at the first meeting of the Torridge Place Board, we marked an important step towards the commencement of Torridge’s historic Levelling Up Partnership (LUP) with the Government.
As a result of our successful Levelling Up bid, work is already under way to build a brand new £16 million Maritime Technology Innovation Centre at Appledore, next door to the revived Harland and Wolff Shipyard, which now employs several hundred people including 30 young local apprentices, expanding to 45 in the next few months.
On top of this, the LUP, one of only twenty in the country, gives us the chance to spread this regeneration to the whole of Torridge and will see our district share an initial £400 millions of direct Government investment on local priorities designed to lift our economy and create new opportunities for young people. The LUP can also call on the government task force to take other measures and regulatory incentives that will support the success of the chosen projects.
The Torridge Place Board will steer and guide the Partnership to concentrate the government task force on the projects and initiatives that will be most effective in bringing new inward investment to our district and enhancing our prosperity and wellbeing.
Over the summer I have visited all the town councils and many parishes, holding village consultations in parish halls, to test the feelings of local people about how we should use this huge opportunity. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has replied to my requests for their thoughts. I have also proposed to the Board that the rural parish councils, as well as the town councils should be represented in the wider consultation panel that is to be convened this month with a view to having our proposals and plans ready by the end of May. Watch this space for more!
Secretary of State for DEFRA visits Holsworthy Cattle Market
In March, I took the DEFRA Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, to Holsworthy Cattle Market last week to meet local farmers and agricultural professionals and to discuss topical issues important to our local farming communities.
The event, in the Market canteen, which I chaired, was also attended by the new National President of the NFU, Tom Bradshaw and Deputy President, David Exwood and DEFRA officials.
There have been several important recent developments in the industry such as the new Fair Dealing Regulations in the dairy sector, with an independent dairy adjudicator to improve fairness in the dairy supply chain, big improvements in the Sustainable Farming Initiative, the Government’s replacement scheme for the CAP, and a consultation on Bovine TB policy, which were bound to attract a lot of interest and attendance was strong.
During a question-and-answer session of over an hour, a packed audience heard the Secretary of State’s thinking on subjects such as the Government’s action to place a strong emphasis on Food Security, Bovine TB Policy, relationships with Natural England, new developments in the Sustainable Farming Initiative, and the new Fair Dealing Regulations to improve supply chain fairness in the milk industry. Farmers were later able later to chat with him informally.
The Secretary of State listened intently to the experiences of local farming interests and his strong commitment to back our farming families to produce high quality food was there for all to see. The Government has listened and acted on Bovine TB, on greater fairness in the dairy sector, on major improvements to the SFI, on a better deal on public procurement and labelling for British farming, and on Natural England’s approach, whose CEO attended my Dartmoor Forum with the Secretary of State in Tavistock earlier in the day.
In Steve Barclay, people saw a down-to-earth Minister who wants to get things done and is a friend to livestock farming and a living, working countryside. I was very grateful for him and to Tom and David for coming to Holsworthy.
Success for our Schools
I have been continuing my regular visits to our local schools, and after holding a village hall surgery in Shebbear in the summer, I had promised to come to look in on the Little Bears pre-school and talk to pupils and teachers at Shebbear Primary School. My own children went to our village school in West Devon and our small rural schools are close to my heart.
Since 2010, the proportion of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted has increased from 68% to 88% based on latest data and England is ranked 11th in the world for maths (up from 27th in 2009) and 13th for reading, higher in both than the United States, and higher than any EU country other than Finland and Estonia. England came 4th internationally for primary school reading proficiency in the International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) results.
I was keen to speak to Nick Alford, the principal, about Shebbear Primary School’s progress in the core subjects, such as reading, since the school was rated “Good” in May 2022, and I very much enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the infectious enthusiasm of the children in their lessons. We finished with a lively question and answer session from the budding Jeremy Paxmans!
Celebrating our Apprentices
I was delighted to welcome Appledore Shipyard Apprentice's for National Apprenticeship Week and meet other apprentices from the sister yard in Belfast. There are now around 30 Apprentices at our Shipyard making naval vessels again with Harland and Wolff, creating new opportunities for our young people and a bright future ahead!
Great Torrington Old Creamery
Last summer, I held a meeting with Great Torrington Town Council to discuss the Levelling Up Partnership and in particular how we might use the Partnership at long last to develop the old creamery site in a way that will give a lasting boost to the Town. I also met the previous owner last year to see if we could find a way forward but very shortly afterwards his company went into liquidation.
I have been in discussions with Farm Finance Ltd, the new owners of the creamery site at Taddiport since they took it over last year, and I was very grateful to Martin Williams of Farm Finance for agreeing to work with me and the community to make the new proposed development work for Torrington, for example, by creating space for new community facilities. I am convinced this is a very important opportunity for the Town and I am keen to explore if and how the LUP might help do that.
On Friday, I visited the site to inspect progress. 80% of the decaying and dilapidated buildings, which were such a dangerous eyesore, have been demolished and the remainder will soon be gone. Then, the process of discovering what contamination and other hazards may lie underground will be commenced. Once those are known, the contractors can develop a strategy to remove them. It is thought this might take a further six months.
Farm Finance held another public consultation in the Town Hall, which was well attended and enabled the company to answer questions and provide more information. It is proposed to hold another similar meeting soon, probably in the evening.
I am also looking into bringing together organisations such as South West Water, the Environment Agency, and DCC Highways department to discuss how the surrounding infrastructure can be improved and made fit for the new development in the Great Torrington area. I am in discussion with local dentists and the Integrated Care Board about expanding NHS medical and dental provision and I shall be meeting the Town Council again soon. Please watch this space for more news on the plans for the site!
Community Ownership Fund Announcement!
Finally, in case you haven’t seen the update from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, the next round of £150 million from the Community Ownership Fund has been announced! This will help ensure our beloved establishments are protected as we stick to the plan of securing a brighter future for local communities and levelling up the whole country.
Pubs, clubs and sports grounds play a critical role in establishing communities across the country. This funding will allow community groups to take ownership of 80 community spaces at risk of being lost, enabling them to run these communities and safeguard their town centres and high streets as we continue to grow the economy and secure a brighter future for our communities.
