With Parliament being in Easter recess, and in between work across the railway, I am continuing my ‘Meet Your MP’ events. This week, I was in Catsfield. The Parish Council notifies residents in advance. I then leaflet on the morning (in the rain as it turned out) and then make myself available for any individual casework matters or to have a general discussion with the Parish Council. I love holding these events because, unlike social media or emails, the face-to-face contact allows us to have a live discussion. Whilst often passionate, I find that those attending speak with consideration and purpose. I do not want to see old-fashioned political debate and discourse drowned out by Facebook so I will continue with my quest. My next events will be in Robertsbridge and Burwash.

None of this would be possible without the collaboration of our Parish and Town Councils. This month, I am holding my Parish Council conference at Great Dixter with representatives from each. To start us off, we will hear from Dixter’s legendary Fergus Garrett; described as the nation’s most influential horticultural educator in Britain today. If you’ve met Fergus then this description will come as no surprise. Fergus will be explaining how local councils can turn more of their land into havens for nature. We will also hear from local housebuilders on how new housing can be constructed and prioritised for those who have been brought up in, or have a link with, the Parish. We also hope to hear from one of our new Youth Parliament representatives to give a young person’s viewpoint about what facilities they would like to see in their village or town. The aim of the morning is to share ideas and best practice and for Parishes and Towns to assess if this is something they would like to replicate.

Since I was elected in 2015, I have done my best to work with local organisations and councils and focus on what unites us rather than on political differences which we may hold. I am aware it is an election year but I will continue in this vein because I find that residents prefer us to discuss how we can work together to get the gutters cleared than see politicians squabbling in them. I also believe it has yielded results. The three tranches of Levelling-up funding is a case in point. We have challenges in our area. The population is older than the national average. We have low unemployment but a large proportion of our workforce is in care, tourism and hospitality. These jobs tend to be lower paid. I have used the fact that the constituency is in the top ten when it comes to having the highest proportion of workers on the national minimum wage.

We need levelling-up funding to deliver infrastructure and upgrades in community facilities to attract higher-skilled jobs and retain our workforce. Michael Gove, in particular, has found the concept of interest and has been a great champion of the bids we have made. As such, the latest fund, the Levelling-up Partnership, will see almost £20m spread across a number of Rother projects and interventions which I have worked with over the years. There is £9m for a new leisure centre at King Offa (which will also release land for new homes). £2.5m will finish off the Queensway Gateway and allow the road between Bexhill and Hastings to attract more new jobs and housing. A new community hub in Bexhill will receive £1m with the same amount being allocated to improve skills across our local area. An injection of £5m will fund a new Barnhorn Green Health Centre in Bexhill. Focussing on the boom in winemaking, £1.7m will be spent to support Rother’s tourism attractions. We also have money allocated to brilliant local organisations such as The Pelham, the Sidley Family Hub, our Chambers of Commerce in Bexhill and Battle and the Beeching Road Studios.

This £20m for Rother comes on top of the £20m Levelling-up Fund which has been awarded to renovate and future-proof the De La Warr Pavilion and make it a home for creativity and skills which will link the Pavilion to a new community hub in Sidley. The aim is to give residents in Sidley the skills they need to start a career in the digital and creative sector. Our final £20m was awarded to make Bexhill one of 55 places to be given a ‘Long Term Plan for Towns’. This is a longer-term plan to regenerate the town centre. Our new town board has been established, and will be chaired by an inspirational leader from our business community. I will be a proud member of this board, working with a number of others to turn your ideas and ambitions into reality.