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This month Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans meets the Australian Senate Speaker to discuss better trade deals and returns to his constituency to take part in a Mayoral service
The month began with me meeting representatives of Ikea at Westminster to discuss the reversal by Ikea of their initial decision to open a store in Preston, which would have created 350 new jobs. They had come across some bureaucratic obstacles from the County Council which meant an unacceptable slippage to the plans. We do really need to ensure that councils and businesses work more closely together and that the council understands that time is money, it’s not a bottomless pit and that investments by companies compete with bids worldwide. There is no doubt this is bad news for our area. This must be a lesson learnt.
Macmillan cancer care specialists came to Westminster in order to raise well over £100,000 by getting companies and Parliament to participate in a tug of war. (Reminds me of Brexit). Three cheers to BAe systems for winning their battle, and congratulations to the Commons for beating the Lords. The biggest thanks to Macmillan for their dedication.
Michael Tupper, a Clitheroe resident who works tirelessly for the RNIB, came to London to lobby me about ensuring that those who are losing their sight and the blind are able to walk around towns like Clitheroe without the fear of walking into objects put out on the pavements by businesses. I do hope that there can be a better understanding of how dangerous it is for the hard sighted to lead a near normal life when confronted with unexpected street furniture which could injure them. Can I ask all traders to think how they can help?
I met the Australian Senate Speaker Scott Ryan and his colleague Tim Wilson MP to discuss better trade deals for the future. They were both hugely positive about the new opportunities that will exist shortly between us, and I promised to put more focus on what goods and services we could trade after 2020.
Three cheers to volunteers who have worked for two years to open a new walk from just above the Fort Vale site in Simonstone. They have opened up a disused railway line and turned it into a fantastic walk in the countryside. Let’s have more of this please!
I love Mayoral services and the new Clitheroe Mayor, Pam Dowson, led her first civic service with a parade through town. On what was a beautiful, sunny day, the Reverend Andy Froud of St. Mary’s, Clitheroe, gave a superb sermon.
It reminded me that summer has now finally arrived and even I managed to catch a few rays sitting outside my home in Pendleton. I do intend to make the most of it after that awful winter – the Ribble Valley really does shine when the sun comes out.
