Huge congratulations to students who collected their exams in recent weeks and a big thank you to the teachers, schools and colleges, who have given their all to support them. I hope all went well and the hard work paid off. My youngest is heading into her final GCSE year so I'll be experiencing again what many parents have been feeling in 12 months.
Over the summer, I’ve been out and about across the constituency, listening to residents, businesses and acting on their behalf. Nobody is anti-homes the challenges are deeper than ever in our area under this Labour Government. Our young people need starter homes, and we need sites suitable for downsizers and planning is now extremely adversarial. The gulf in getting started too great and types of homes too bland, and not environmentally suitable enough too.
I heard from concerned Newick residents and the campaign group Save Newick Village, all deeply worried about the proposed further development at Goldbridge Farm but it is only one in a series of unsuitable sites coming forward not only in Newick itself but wider, such as nearby Wivelsfield Green, or further afield in Uckfield or Crawley Down.
I’ve reflected constituents’ views on this application in my submission to the council with many others as it’s far from amenities and suitable roads, and the scale and svcope - this new one up to 250 homes - is gigantic for a small village like Newick.
As is so common, the roads and community infrastructure simply isn’t there - public transport is limited, footpaths are narrow, and local services like schools and healthcare are already stretched. Locals strongly feel this is not sustainable development - it's speculative overreach.
Meanwhile, I’ve also been raising ongoing concerns about the migrant hotel site in our area. While it's been relatively quiet since it opened some times back, predominantly for those leaving Afghanistan, the situation has changed dramatically not least with the successful court case in Epping Forest. With a 50% rise in crossings since Labour came to power and they scrapped the Rwanda deterrent, it’s no surprise local patience is wearing very thin.
Reports of safety issues and illegal working have reached me, and I’ll be visiting the site shortly to speak directly with those affected. I've been in regular contact with the Home Office since becoming the MP for this site, and I’ll continue to press for answers and action.
Over this last week of school break do continue to support our fantastic local pubs, cafés, and independent shops. Without successful businesses there is no money for the public services we need and I’m happy to drink to that to support our high streets and villages centres.
