Starting with our town centre, our plans to transform the high street are moving quickly. We secured a massive £18.3 million of Levelling Up money which will be used for a new theatre and riverside park amongst other things, and spades will be in the ground this spring. There is a long way to go, but an exciting start will be made shortly. I will also continue to press for more clarity on the timetable for our new Hospital on the M3, and for more investment in the War Memorial Hospital.
Last year I received a lot of correspondence on anti-social behaviour, and I am pleased to say that we now have dedicated patrols for our towns like Andover and Basingstoke — tackling shoplifting, vandalism, and other low-level crime. We secured over £99K to prevent these issues and I will continue to work with our excellent Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, and local authorities to make sure we are spending this money in the right places.
Unfortunately, we are still seeing an upward trend in rural crime in our surrounding villages especially theft of farm machinery, poaching and increased violence. I have been discussing more assertive strategies to drive this down with local police chiefs, and I will be reconvening a meeting with them shortly where we will examine the progress made.
In 2025 I will continue to fight hard for our landscape and ecology. We need greater protection for our chalk streams, and I hope we are successful in upgrading our stunning Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to a National Park this year.
Finally, I wanted to mention our farmers. We live in one of the most rural constituencies in England, and our farmers play a hugely important part in our food production and local economy. Sadly, the government’s changes to inheritance tax may force many family farms to close. I will continue to support them as they try and change the Chancellor’s mind.
One of the big stories last year was of course the change of government, and whilst I naturally would have preferred a different result, I am grateful to have been given another chance to represent NW Hants and I wish you all a Happy New Year