The past 12 months have been extraordinary and difficult for many of us, but as the local Member of Parliament I have been proud to hear so many amazing stories of local residents, businesses and community groups going above and beyond to support others.
If you know an individual or a group of people who have gone the extra mile to make a difference in our community, please take the time to nominate them for the Pride of Swindon Awards 2022.
The closing date for nominations is 12pm on Monday 14th February and you can nominate them here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/xfp/form/649.
Since first being elected in 2010, securing Swindon’s fair share of government investment has been a top priority of mine. That is why I was pleased that 2021 was a record-breaking year for our town.
It was announced at the start of the year that Swindon was set to benefit from £19.5 million worth of government investment to regenerate our town. We confirmed at the latest Towns’ Fund meeting in December that £11 million of our allocation had been formally approved.
This positive news was built upon by the announcement that our town had been awarded £25 million from the government’s Future High Streets Fund – the highest sum awarded. This money will be spent on rejuvenating Fleming Way and the surrounding area.
As part of this redevelopment, I had the opportunity to visit the new Zurich building being built in Kimmerfields. This will not only be their new headquarters, but it will also provide space for other businesses and the community to utilise.
During 2021, I was also pleased to see that Swindon will receive £550,000 to increase the safety of public spaces. This money, secured through the Safer Streets Fund, will go towards measures proven to help cut crime, including the installation of additional street lighting and CCTV cameras.
I will continue to work closely with Swindon Borough Council, the Police & Crime Commissioner and others to ensure that this money is spent where it is needed most and makes a real difference to our town.
Last year also saw the completion of the £17.5 million project to help alleviate traffic and congestion when approaching Junction 15 of the M4. This follows the successful upgrading of Junction 15 and other road improvement works across Swindon.
Working closely with Justin Tomlinson MP, the Conservative-led Borough Council and others, I lobbied hard to secure the above money for our town and will continue to push in 2022 for further investments to be made.
I hope that everybody here in Swindon had a wonderful Christmas and has a brilliant new year. As always, if there is anything that I can be of assistance with, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me via [email protected] or on 01793 533393.
