It was great to be back at Foundation Park on Sunday afternoon, for the Swindon Bangla Football Tournament. Since it's opening, the all-weather football facility run by Swindon Town FC Community Foundation has been important not only for the development of football skills but for its use by our wider community. This was a fun seven a side event to watch, with a good standard of football being played by all who took part. I would like to congratulate the winning team, Surma, to who I was delighted to present the trophy to at the end of the tournament.
After speaking at the Earthline Public Inquiry in May, in strong support of the hundreds of local residents who have contacted me and following my joint objection to the Planning Inspectorate with local Ward Councillors in Wroughton and Chiseldon, I am glad that the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed Earthline’s Planning Appeal.
I am pleased that the Inspector considered the comments and safety concerns of local residents about the impact of the HGVs on the local roads and pavements.
I would like to thank the many local residents who got in touch with me to raise concerns and provide information and evidence about the detrimental impact this issue was having locally. I would also like to thank Cllr Jenny Jefferies for setting up a residents’ group in Chiseldon and then opening this up to all residents affected. Thank you to Cllr Lawrence Elliott, Cllr Cathy Martyn, Cllr Brian Ford, and Cllr Dave Martyn for all of their hard work, as well as the Swindon Borough Council Officers who appeared at the Public Enquiry. Finally, thank you to Wroughton and Chiseldon Parish Councils for their support. This really was a superb team effort by all and demonstrates the strength of our local community when we all work together.
Keeping local residents safer on our streets has always been an important priority of mine here in south Swindon, so I am pleased that Swindon Borough Council has been awarded over £1.4m of Government money as part of the third round of the Safer Streets Fund. This funding will be used to provide training and support in schools and businesses, as well as enabling the council to work closely with local families to provide early interventions. The funding will also help provide training to local practitioners and develop the trigger process across the local authority.
This funding follows on from the £550,000 awarded to Swindon last year from the Safer Streets Fund, which was used on measures including installing ten fixed and ten deployable CCTV cameras, which are monitored by Swindon Borough Council Control Room staff who have direct links to the local policing teams.
Previous Government funding has also been used to work with partners to identify hot-spot locations here in Swindon and install additional lighting in rear alleyways.
When it comes to Government funding to keep local residents safe, I will continue to work hard alongside Justin Tomlinson MP to ensure that we receive our fair share here in the town.
As part of my Speeding and Anti-Social Vehicle Behaviour Campaign, I have been working closely with Swindon Police and Swindon Borough Council on a multi-agency approach to tackle this issue. As part of Operation Staysail – our dedicated response to disruptive car meets, Swindon Police seized a car at the weekend. The vehicle was seized as the owner had breached a previous warning and drove it dangerously during a car meet.
Finally, my Local Charity of the Week is Swindon Neuro Wellbeing Centre, which provides a lifeline to hundreds of people living with a variety of neurological conditions, who want to not just manage their condition, but to seek out how they might improve symptoms. However, some of their therapies help others too, including those living with cancer, leg ulcers, and long covid - in fact, Swindon Neuro Wellbeing Centre consider any condition where the therapies they offer could make a positive difference.
That's the reason why, at the end of June the Centre rebranded, from the Swindon MS & Neuro Therapy Centre, to become known as the Neuro Wellbeing Centre; to better reflect the growing diversity of the conditions they support and treat. More information about the Centre can be found on their website www.neurowellbeingcentre.co.uk or give our Centre team a call on 01793 481700.
