During my time at DEFRA I worked on the Ivory Act, commencing work on the Environment Bill, Agriculture Bill and Fisheries Bill. These pieces of legislation will form the backbone of our world leading Environmental and Rural Protections outside of the European Union. We should be setting the world’s standards for Animal Welfare and Environmental legislation and I am proud to have played this role in developing these pieces of legislation.
I have worked hard to protect rural areas against over development and understand the rural community, my dad was a farmer and likewise my mum came from a farming family and I understand how much people rurally do for the community and how they care every day for our local environment. In my previous role I met regularly with the NFU, Woodland Trust and other organisations who care about our green spaces and rural area. I am keen to continue this work should I be elected in Mid Sussex. Understanding the challenges around rural crime and supporting the connectivity of the villages both through bus links, mobile and internet connectivity is a priority for me alongside working with our PCC Katy Bourne on rural challenges.
We all appreciate the need for more homes across the country but I believe we can build them in a way that enhances our existing towns, villages and communities, particularly relating to our village high streets and local shops. We have a local plan in place until 2031 and I strongly believe in the localism agenda, neighbourhood plans and the need to listen to the community.
We need to preserve our local environment and protecting ancient woodland is a key part of this. In my previous role I worked hard fighting the Liberal Democrats’ agenda of excessive development and I am keen to take this forward and work to keep Mid Sussex as the rural area we all know and love.
