Today the CMS Committee held a second session in the afternoon on the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In the session we heard from the Rt. Hon.
Last Friday, the George Pub in Bethersden reopened following its two year closure. It has been transformed by a group of residents following an effort to raise £300,000 to buy the pub. This more than matched a Government grant of £250,000.
Political crises come and go, but the crisis of social care has been growing for decades, and still needs a comprehensive solution. I have been trying to push it up the political agenda for years and will keep doing so, for a number of reasons.
Sometimes it is good to have hard facts and figures to back up what we all think is happening. I have been reading the Barclays Bank Local Insights report for Ashford to see what we are doing with our money.
Today the CMS Committee held its first evidence session in our Gambling Regulation inquiry following the publication of the Government's gambling White Paper last month.
The fear of crime, especially in the town centre, is a subject often brought up with me when I meet people. The incidence of crime is much less than the fear, but even so it is clear that people want a more visible police presence to reassure them.
The news in last week’s Kentish Express that planning permission has been granted for the Otterpool Park Development on the former Folkestone Racecourse will itself have an impact on the Ashford area.
