After a busy summer in the constituency, it has been great to return this week to Westminster to raise the issues I have discussed with local residents as part of my summer tour.
Over the break I tried to meet and catch up with as many of you as possible. This included visiting many of our local villages such as Fawkham and Farningham, where it was good to meet local councillors and residents to discuss speeding, protections for the Green Belt and fly tipping.
Locally in Sevenoaks I had the pleasure of opening the new Post Office at Sans Mini Market, opposite Sevenoaks railway station. Accompanied by Sevenoaks District Council Councillors Simon Raikes and Graham Clack, it was lovely to receive such a warm and enthusiastic welcome by Postmaster Roopan Pararajasingam and his family. This is such a superb and convenient location - especially for commuters - and will serve local people well. I wish Roopan all the very best in this new vital service to the people of Sevenoaks.
I would also like to take this moment to celebrate the official opening over the summer of the new Bat & Ball Centre, which was a wonderful event. The old community centre had served the town well but was in desperate need of repair. Sevenoaks Town Council rightly saw the redevelopment as an ideal opportunity to support their plans for the regeneration of the Bat & Ball area and, with added finance from the Community Infrastructure Levy Board of Sevenoaks District Council, they have now built a centre that can be used and enjoyed by the community for years to come. For more information on the centre, and what it can now offer, please visit their website.
Finally, I recently launched a transport survey for residents in Otford. Since my election, many of you have been in touch to share with me your views on transport provision across the Sevenoaks and Swanley constituency. Better links for Otford (by bike, train and bus) is a common theme, and I therefore wanted to provide a platform where you can feed in your ideas. If you are local to Otford and wish to take part, please visit: https://www.lauratrott.org.uk/have-your-say. The survey will be open until 24th September and I want to hear from as many Otford residents as possible, so please do encourage your neighbours to get involved too. Thank you to everyone involved in the launch including Cllr Irene Roy, Cllr John Edwards-Winser and Simon Featherstone.
If you do not live in Otford but wish to share your local concerns, do not fret. I will be running future surveys later this year to focus on other key issues affecting our local towns and villages. It is vital that everyone across Sevenoaks and Swanley can have their views heard. Equally, if you wish to raise something with me directly, please do email my office on [email protected].
