I was delighted to learn that after nearly a year a Post Office is set to return to the village of Rollesby. I have been lobbying for a return of this vital service ever since the old office suddenly shut after the retirement of the old subpostmaster. A limited service will be returning from Tuesday the 15th May. The subpostmaster at Catfield Post Office will provide a service on Tuesday and Fridays between 9.30, and 12.30. This provision will provide
In the Great Yarmouth area, the tourist industry is worth an estimated £500 million to the local economy. In terms of accommodation, most people would think that visitors stay in a hotel or a local guesthouse. In fact, around half the tourists that come here on holiday stay in a static caravan in one of our excellent holiday parks. Therefore, what may seem an obscure debate about applying VAT to the sale of static caravans
The Government has given Great Yarmouth Borough Council a welcome £1/2 million boost, as part of the New Homes Bonus. The New Homes Bonus is a multi-billion pound programme that rewards communities when they accept more housebuilding in their area, with extra reward for building new affordable homes, and for getting long-term empty homes back into use. This is just one of the policies the Government has introduced to help resolve the current housing crisis. These
Over twenty local hotel and guesthouse owners joined me for breakfast at the Furzedown Hotel, as I hosted my latest policy breakfast. These are a regular opportunity for me to listen to people from a particular business sector or professional background. Recent breakfasts have included meetings with local GPs and headteachers. As the Great Yarmouth economy is reliant on tourism, this meeting was important on getting feedback from people who have first-hand experience. These people
It’s great to read in today’s EDP that the new enterprise zone in Great Yarmouth is receiving worldwide interest, from countries as far away as China and Korea. After just a few months, we are already demonstrating that this area is important for the offshore engineering and servicing industries. It’s another step towards the extra businesses and jobs that we need to attract to Great Yarmouth.
What an odd topic for the Labour Party to choose to debate. After all, the squeeze on the living standards of millions in this country is a direct result of the need to pay off the nation’s debt that Labour carelessly allowed get out of control. As Member of Parliament for a coastal community it is ironic that Labour wish to talk about living standards when towns like ours suffered 13-years of neglect and under-investment.
I was delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP to Great Yarmouth on Thursday the 27th October. The main theme of Mr Pickles’ visit was that of partnership, and how it can be used to overcome the challenges faced by councils and businesses in Great Yarmouth. I took Mr Pickles to a number of meetings intended to showcase how partnership working was driving down costs for the local council; and
The Transport Minister, Mike Penning, visited Great Yarmouth last week to learn about a range of local transport issues. It was an opportunity to highlight the work of volunteers at Caister Lifeboat. Paul Garrod, the Chairman of the Caister Lifeboat, led the crew that took us out to see the Scroby Sands Windfarm and the Outer Harbour. During the journey, we discussed how the lifeboat operates and plans to develop the organisation. The minister confirmed
Great news that the Government plans to release funds to help support councils return to weekly bin collections. Eric Pickles the local government minister, has unveiled a £250 million fund to finance the shift from fortnightly bin collections. I have consistently supported weekly bin collections, and so am delighted by this news. I have now written to Cllr. Steve Ames, the Leader of the Borough Council asking him whether he intends to take advantage of this new proposal. I have
Brandon Lewis