Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, attended a meeting with residents of Fir Tree near Crook.
Richard met residents at the Fir Tree Country Hotel to discuss their concerns and priorities for the village and the area. Residents are concerned about speeding in the area; a speed van that the local police acquired is currently unable to be used as the person who could drive it has been taken ill. One of the residents was going to take this issue up with the ‘speedwatch’ team. There was also a discussion about gateway features, which can help with traffic calming measures, and the potential cost of installing them. A few of the local councillors who were present agreed to look into this Councillor Anne Reed said she would be happy to look into the matter. Richard agreed to work on a local campaign to address speeding and traffic issues in the local area. Another Councillor, Pat Jopling, who works closely with Anne Reed, was also at the meeting and spoke about the work that Councillors are doing for the village.
One resident also enquired about farming subsidies, which led to a discussion about the Agriculture Bill and environmental land management. Richard assured residents that he is working in Parliament to ensure that those managing small rural farms will not be placed at a disadvantage. You can read about the work Richard is doing for local farming communities here, watch him speaking about farming in Parliament here and here and read about the conversations he had about farming with the Environment Secretary when she visited the constituency here.
Richard also spoke to residents about his priorities for Fir Tree and the wider constituency, including getting the A68 adopted as a major road (read about this here), improving bus services for rural areas (read about this here), improving employment opportunities and improving the local rail services. He also spoke about how he is going to push for improving local sports facilities, which led to a discussion about Peases West, a local sports centre, and potential improvements to its facilities. You can read about Richard’s plan for the constituency here.
Commenting, Richard said ‘It was a pleasure to meet residents of Fir Tree and to get the opportunity to talk to them about concerns they have, particularly about speeding and safety in the area. They are all working really hard to care for and improve their local area for the whole community and it was great to catch up about what they have all been working on recently. I am always keen to hear from constituents and looking forward to working with residents to help them get the improvements and changes that they want. It was also really good to catch up with several local councillors who attended. I am looking forward to working closely with Fir Tree residents over the next few months and years and thank them for hosting me.’
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