WELCOME
Welcome to my latest newsletter. Please forward it to anyone else who you think would like to receive it, and they can sign up at my website (www.peterheatonjones.org.uk). If you would prefer not to receive it, please use the unsubscribe button below. And please get in touch if there are any issues you would like to discuss.
Age Concern
On Wednesday evening I was delighted to be invited to the Annual General Meeting of Barnstaple & District Age Concern. It was also a celebration of their 21st birthday: that’s 21 years of providing a huge range of services to older people across a wide swathe of North Devon.
Looking at the figures, in a typical week Age Concern provide around 300 hours of services to more than 200 people. This includes transport to and from medical appointments, social events, help with shopping, and the provision of a huge amount of information and advice.
They can only achieve this because of the hard work of large numbers of dedicated volunteers. Some of the longest-serving were presented with certificates and gifts at the meeting, as the photo shows.
Age Concern is a charity, and money is tight. I spoke afterwards to the Chair of Trustees, the Treasurer, and the Director, and pledged to do all I can to help them seek new sources of funding.
They provide a very valuable service, and I was proud to have been invited to meet and support them.
Schools Funding: Good News
When I invited the then-Education Secretary Michael Gove to visit North Devon last year, I lobbied him personally for fairer funding for our schools. It looks like one of his last decisions in the job was to put that into action.
At the end of last week, the government announced it is now putting an extra £390 million into the pot to close the funding gap in rural areas like North Devon.
The county's Local Education Authority is to get a year-on-year increase of £16.7 million. That means schools in North Devon will receive nearly £200 more per pupil.
The extra money will make a huge difference and is very welcome, but I hope we can achieve more. I'll now be lobbying the new Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, for a long-term deal to ensure North Devon gets fairer funding for years to come.
Planning: Further Pressure
As promised, this week I’ve written to the new Planning & Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, to express our concern that North Devon residents often feel powerless when new developments are being decided. I am pushing for the government to change its guidance so that local authorities can be more confident in rejecting planning applications when it’s right to do so.
Here are some extracts from my letter:
“Several significant housing developments around Barnstaple are being granted permission, either by the local authority or on appeal, despite often overwhelming opposition from local people…
They take the view that the National Planning Policy Framework creates a presumption in favour of development and that any application rejected locally will therefore be allowed on appeal, with a financial burden on the Council. This of course flies in the face of the Localism Act 2011.
My overall concern is that local residents must have their voices heard, as is the clear intention and spirit of the Act. The strong perception is that this is not happening... This is a very significant issue in North Devon which is facing the imposition of thousands of new houses, and therefore I would be grateful for your consideration as to what can be done”.
I know Brandon Lewis, who is an experienced minister, will look at this very carefully. One of my overarching themes is to get North Devon’s voice heard loud and clear, and this is a further example.
One more political thought: I know people are frustrated with the Conservatives over planning, but many of our current problems are the legacy of the last Labour government. They imposed top-down, centralised targets which demanded that thousands more houses should be built. The Conservatives have quite rightly scrapped them, but greedy developers are now seeking to exploit the ‘vacuum’ before new, more realistic housing targets have been agreed.
Yes, we do need to do things better, and I am working hard to get that message up to the powers-that-be. But things will be a whole lot worse again under Labour. By all means be frustrated with the current government, but be careful what you wish for.
Barnstaple, here we come!
Our new magazine for Barnstaple and the surrounding areas is rolling off the presses as I write. We will be delivering about 20,000 to houses in and around the town during August. There will also be a survey asking for your views about the local area. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw, and there’s another prize to be won in a wordsearch competition in the magazine too. Do look out for your copy in the next few weeks. If you don’t live in the Barnstaple area, don’t worry, there will be plenty more literature coming your way!
Keep in touch
I am active on social media, which is a good way to keep up with what I am doing so please:
Follow me on Twitter: @PeterNorthDevon
Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeterNorthDevon
Many thanks.
Until next week......
Peter
Peter Heaton-Jones
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate
email:[email protected]
www.peterheatonjones.org.uk
Welcome to my latest newsletter. Please forward it to anyone else who you think would like to receive it, and they can sign up at my website (www.peterheatonjones.org.uk). If you would prefer not to receive it, please use the unsubscribe button below. And please get in touch if there are any issues you would like to discuss.
Age Concern
On Wednesday evening I was delighted to be invited to the Annual General Meeting of Barnstaple & District Age Concern. It was also a celebration of their 21st birthday: that’s 21 years of providing a huge range of services to older people across a wide swathe of North Devon.
Looking at the figures, in a typical week Age Concern provide around 300 hours of services to more than 200 people. This includes transport to and from medical appointments, social events, help with shopping, and the provision of a huge amount of information and advice.
They can only achieve this because of the hard work of large numbers of dedicated volunteers. Some of the longest-serving were presented with certificates and gifts at the meeting, as the photo shows.
Age Concern is a charity, and money is tight. I spoke afterwards to the Chair of Trustees, the Treasurer, and the Director, and pledged to do all I can to help them seek new sources of funding.
They provide a very valuable service, and I was proud to have been invited to meet and support them.
Schools Funding: Good News
When I invited the then-Education Secretary Michael Gove to visit North Devon last year, I lobbied him personally for fairer funding for our schools. It looks like one of his last decisions in the job was to put that into action.
At the end of last week, the government announced it is now putting an extra £390 million into the pot to close the funding gap in rural areas like North Devon.
The county's Local Education Authority is to get a year-on-year increase of £16.7 million. That means schools in North Devon will receive nearly £200 more per pupil.
The extra money will make a huge difference and is very welcome, but I hope we can achieve more. I'll now be lobbying the new Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, for a long-term deal to ensure North Devon gets fairer funding for years to come.
Planning: Further Pressure
As promised, this week I’ve written to the new Planning & Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, to express our concern that North Devon residents often feel powerless when new developments are being decided. I am pushing for the government to change its guidance so that local authorities can be more confident in rejecting planning applications when it’s right to do so.
Here are some extracts from my letter:
“Several significant housing developments around Barnstaple are being granted permission, either by the local authority or on appeal, despite often overwhelming opposition from local people…
They take the view that the National Planning Policy Framework creates a presumption in favour of development and that any application rejected locally will therefore be allowed on appeal, with a financial burden on the Council. This of course flies in the face of the Localism Act 2011.
My overall concern is that local residents must have their voices heard, as is the clear intention and spirit of the Act. The strong perception is that this is not happening... This is a very significant issue in North Devon which is facing the imposition of thousands of new houses, and therefore I would be grateful for your consideration as to what can be done”.
I know Brandon Lewis, who is an experienced minister, will look at this very carefully. One of my overarching themes is to get North Devon’s voice heard loud and clear, and this is a further example.
One more political thought: I know people are frustrated with the Conservatives over planning, but many of our current problems are the legacy of the last Labour government. They imposed top-down, centralised targets which demanded that thousands more houses should be built. The Conservatives have quite rightly scrapped them, but greedy developers are now seeking to exploit the ‘vacuum’ before new, more realistic housing targets have been agreed.
Yes, we do need to do things better, and I am working hard to get that message up to the powers-that-be. But things will be a whole lot worse again under Labour. By all means be frustrated with the current government, but be careful what you wish for.
Barnstaple, here we come!
Our new magazine for Barnstaple and the surrounding areas is rolling off the presses as I write. We will be delivering about 20,000 to houses in and around the town during August. There will also be a survey asking for your views about the local area. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw, and there’s another prize to be won in a wordsearch competition in the magazine too. Do look out for your copy in the next few weeks. If you don’t live in the Barnstaple area, don’t worry, there will be plenty more literature coming your way!
Keep in touch
I am active on social media, which is a good way to keep up with what I am doing so please:
Follow me on Twitter: @PeterNorthDevon
Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeterNorthDevon
Many thanks.
Until next week......
Peter
Peter Heaton-Jones
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate
email:[email protected]
www.peterheatonjones.org.uk