This month it was an honour to join the Remembrance Sunday services that took place in both Sevenoaks and Swanley. It is always so poignant to see our communities come together and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today.
Locally we have a proud history of supporting the armed forces, and I would like to take this moment to thank all our servicemen and women, their families and the Royal British Legion volunteers who work tirelessly to support our veterans, run the Remembrance service and sell poppies.
As I do every year, I also planted a commemorate cross in the Garden of Remembrance in Westminster on behalf of Sevenoaks and Swanley. The garden was incredibly moving and a chance to pay tribute to all the service men and women in Parliament.
Whatever may divide us, I am confident that we will always remain united by the unending debt we owe to those who lost their lives.
As you may have seen, this month I was appointed by HM the King as Chief Secretary to HM Treasury, which is an enormous privilege and one I am proud to do.
I should be absolutely clear however that this new role is in addition to the work I already do on behalf of all of you in Sevenoaks and Swanley, so if you need help or would like to discuss your issue, please as ever email me at [email protected].
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Below is a snapshot of what we have been working on. If there is anything, I can do to support you, please get in touch.
- Last week I met with Council Leader Julia Thornton, and Simon Reay (Cabinet Member responsible for planning). Along with council officers, they talked me through the current Local Plan consultation document and I reiterated my position that I do not support development on the Green Belt without local consent – something I have also been championing in Westminster. The current consultation runs until 11 January and there will be drop-ins at the Sevenoaks District Council offices on Monday 4 December and at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre on Tuesday 9 January both between 4.30pm and 7.30pm, for anyone who wishes to attend. You can also access the consultation online through this link. Engagement with the plan is vital, so please do have a look if you can.
- Improving our local transport infrastructure has been something I have been working on since my election. And, it was great to this month meet with Richard Parry, Roger Johnson and Tony Clayton of the Sevenoaks Railway Travellers Association (SRTA) to discuss with them my current campaigns. The group do so much for local rail passengers and their knowledge of the local network is unrivalled.
- One topic that came up at the meeting was the fast service from Otford and Swanley to London - which with your help we were able to secure. However, whilst I welcome the further rush hour service in the morning which will commence from the 11 December (and I continue to argue for more rush hour trains returning from London in the evening) I am concerned to hear there appears to have only been four carriages on recent services in the mornings. This has led to unacceptable overcrowding and in the worst-case scenario, passengers unable to board. This is not good enough. This month I therefore wrote to Southeastern asking for an urgent explanation and for action to be taken to put this right. I will keep you all updated.
- I was delighted to attend the opening of the new Dawn to Dusk Nursery building in Swanley and it was a great pleasure to meet the owners and manager, Akhil and Rakhee Patel, who also kindly gave me a tour of their new facilities. Dawn to Dusk have recently moved into their brand-new nursery which has been built this year next to Swanley Park. I really enjoyed meeting the team and was lucky enough to catch some of the children during their story time and see how well they have settling into their new building. A huge thanks to Swanley Town Council and Sevenoaks District Council, who have been instrumental in facilitating the development of Dawn to Dusk’s move to Swanley Park and my congratulations to everyone involved.
- Last week I wrote in support of Sevenoaks District Council’s application for Heritage Funding for Bradbourne Lakes – which has been submitted in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust, South East Rivers Trust, Historic England, West Kent Mind and Bradbourne Residents’ Association. Bradbourne Lakes is a wonderful location to visit, and I have seen for myself how hard local residents work to maintain the area. Sevenoaks District Council through Community Infrastructure Levy funding (money obtained from developers) have already agreed to invest around £500,000 toward the restoration of the lakes; landscaping, footpath and environmental improvements. I wish them luck with the bid and as ever will continue to provide all the support I can.
- Over recent months, many of you have written to me about receiving a poor postal service, especially in Otford, Ide Hill and the Ryewood development in Dunton Green. As a result of this, a meeting was held with Royal Mail at the Sevenoaks sorting office at the end of September, and assurances were given that there was a six-week plan to improve matters. However sadly, it appears in some locations the service now appears to have got worse. This month I have written to Royal Mail seeking an urgent action plan to be put in place to resolve this unacceptable situation. I will keep you updated, and in the meantime, do please email me, if you are experiencing any issues.
- Along with local councillors I held a meeting with Thames Water. And, top of our agenda was the road works which were taking place at the time in Sundridge which led to the A25 road closure. I made it clear I wanted them to pull out all the stops and following our discussion I heard that they had now managed to source the equipment required and pulled teams from other planned works so the repairs could take place over the weekend. This meant the road was able to reopen on Monday morning, in time for the rush hour. I know the closure caused huge disruption for many over the weekend but they had previously not even been able to give a date for the reopening so it was welcome progress.
- Our GPs are doing a huge amount of work. But, I want to hear your experiences of how this is translating for you and your family in terms of appointments. Providing feedback, both good and bad, plays an essential role in helping to share good practice and celebrating excellence, as well as improving services which are not meeting your needs - and that is why I have launched my GP Survey. This is a chance for you to be heard, and I will be sharing the results with the patient engagement representatives and GP’s surgeries so that, if necessary, changes can be made. The survey will be open until 7th December, so please do share your experiences, and encourage your friends and families to do the same. It is important to me that services in this area are as good as they can be, and by working together we can do this.
- I know how frustrating potholes are for our community, and that is why I am very pleased Kent County Council has been awarded £134 million from the Government to enhance our local roads. This substantial investment is part of a £8.6bn investment from the Department of Transport. And, I will be working closely with Kent County Council over the next few months to ensure roads in Sevenoaks and Swanley benefit from this funding. However, if you are out and about - whether in a car, on a bike, or on foot – and spot a pothole which needs repair, please report them here. If you do not hear back from the council, let my office know and we can check in on the repair schedule.
- Following the success of my first co-hosted Apprenticeship Fair, I am delighted to have signed up again – with the next Fair taking place on Friday 8th March 2024. Planning is underway so if you are a local business in Sevenoaks and Swanley that is looking to recruit apprentices, and would like to exhibit, please do get in touch with my office. Let’s make next year’s event even bigger, and better!
- I am delighted that The Department for Health and Social Care has approved a new Community Diagnostic Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital, in Sidcup. This centre will increase diagnostic capacity locally and reduce waiting times for residents across Sevenoaks, with state-of-the art equipment to deliver CT, MRI, X-ray and phlebotomy tests and scans. Activity will begin to be delivered through mobile facilities from December 2023 with phlebotomy tests, with the remaining facilities being open by March 2025. This is fantastic news for all in our community as once fully operational, the centre will have capacity to deliver up to 58,709 checks, tests and scans a year, bringing down waiting times and tackling the COVID-19 backlog. This won’t replace services at local centres but is in addition to our existing capacity.
- I know many of you will be starting to plan for Christmas, and therefore I wanted to give a shout out to a Christmas charity pop up shop, which is currently open in Sevenoaks Library, Buckhurst Lane. It is open Monday to Friday, 10am - 4pm and Saturday 10am - 3.30pm until 19th December. The pop up shop is supporting 43 worth charities, so please do pop in if you are in the area.
- And finally, I held my usual MP surgeries. These appointments are a chance for you to share your concerns with me, and to discuss any issues you are experiencing. If you have a case you would like to discuss with me, please email me, and I will do all I can to support.
