Parliament has been in recess this week so although departmental business has carried on at Westminster I have been able to take the opportunity of spending extra time in the constituency.
On Monday I had departmental meetings regarding forthcoming legislation. On Tuesday and Wednesday I attended meetings of the Science and Technology Committee followed by more business with the Ministry of Justice on Thursday.
I had the pleasure of meeting the team at the FAST testing centre at Heywood Sports Village early in the week. I was shown around the site which is offering rapid lateral flow testing for people who are not showing covid symptoms but are unable to work from home and are coming into contact with others. I was invited to take a test as any other member of the public would, and see first-hand how this process is helping to reduce infection transmission in the constituency. The whole process was fast and efficient and I had a negative result in just over 20 minutes. It was very reassuring to hear that just 2-3% of people tested were receiving positive results, but the difference that identifying these people makes is huge in slowing local transmission and saving lives. I cannot thank the professionals and volunteers at the centre enough for the wonderful work that they are doing.
Unfortunately, I had to write to the Secretary of State for Education this week to expresses deep concern about children’s home run by Rochdale Council. You can read more about this here: https://www.chrisclarkson.org.uk/news/heywood-and-middleton-mp-expresses-deep-concern-about-childrens-home-run-rochdale-council
I have visited a couple of our parks this week. We are fortunate to have some wonderful green flag parks in the constituency and I took some time out to have a walk around both Queens Park where I enjoyed a coffee from the park cafe and Springfield Park where I chatted to a small group of green volunteers who were tending to the herbaceous borders. Lots of us have really relied on time in outdoor spaces like parks during lockdown and it gives us a greater appreciation for the time and effort that friends groups and volunteers put in to keep these areas beautiful and accessible for us all.
On Thursday I met with local independent business owners in Castleton to hear their concerns about plans to introduce a new cycle lane scheme which atrip parking away from the centre of the village. I want to know what local people think of these plans too so I will be opening a consultation on my website where you can have your say. It would be really helpful to get as much feedback as possible from local people so that we can make sure that the council are listening to the views of the community.
This weekend there has been an extremely successful operation on Scout Moor in Norden run by Greater Manchester Police in conjunction with United Utilities, Ward Councillors, Lancashire Police and community groups. This was the latest in a series of operations to target illegal off-road bikes which are destroying the moorland and causing danger to other users. I was pleased to hear that several warnings have been issued and vehicles seized.
On Monday I visited Heywood Market as work got underway to refurbish this vitally important local business and community hub. The Market board are investing £300,000 of their funds into improvements which will ensure that the market remains a focal point of the local community for shoppers and traders. Since my election I have had ongoing discussions with the market board and have enjoyed several visits to speak to shoppers and traders, so it is good to see that the plans we have discussed are now coming to fruition.
Many residents have expressed serious concerns about the Heywood Masterplan that came to the Heywood Township Committee for approval this week. The future of the market was called into question when all plans designated it as an area for development. I sent questions to the committee and whilst efforts to reassure residents were somewhat conflicted it does seem that we have succeeded in forcing Labour’s Councillors to agree to full consultation on any future development proposals.
It’s back to the Chamber next week as Parliament reconvenes and I like many others am looking forward to hearing the Prime Ministers announcement on Monday. In Heywood and Middleton, we have been really good at observing the regulations, despite us all wanting to get back to normal. But the good news is that our determination has really paid off with local rates of infection for Rochdale Borough down again this week to 168.2 per 100,000.
As ever if there is anything that I can do to help you with any issue or problem that you are having please do get in touch by emailing to [email protected] or calling 01706 538 262.
