Happy New Year!
At this time of year many people reflect on the twelve months just passed. For me 2017 started off well, with the Government granting us £4 million funding for the expansion of Pendle’s largest employment site, the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, in January.
There was further good news on the jobs front with Rolls-Royce moving ahead with their £50 million investment in the Barnoldswick site. During a visit in August and at the Rolls-Royce open day in September I was delighted to see the progress being made and hear about plans to attract more investment.
The £32 million transformation of Brierfield Mills into Northlight, made possible by significant government funding, is also starting to take shape. Lancashire Adult Learning opened in part of the mill complex in October and I have been working closely with Burnley FC in the Community, on their £4 million leisure offering which will open during 2018.
During 2017 we saw the ongoing £18 million investment in facilities at Burnley General Hospital, really start to take shape. I helped secure a large proportion of this funding from the government back in 2015, but up until last year there wasn’t much to show for it. But then in August we saw the opening of the new Children’s Outpatient Area, followed by the opening of the new Elective Centre, Chemotherapy and Beast Cancer Units in December. Despite all this excellent progress at Burnley Hospital, there is more to do. I have raised concerns about car parking at the hospital and remain committed to working for the reopening of the A&E, wrongly closed ten years ago.
On a personal note, being re-elected in June for a third time with more votes and a higher share of the vote than ever before was obviously the high point. It is a huge honour to represent Pendle in Parliament. Over the past seven years, as your Member of Parliament, I feel we have achieved a lot, securing record amounts of funding and laying the foundations for the years ahead.
In 2018, I will continue to fight for Pendle, for the re-opening of the Colne-Skipton railway line, for measures to tackle traffic congestion in Colne, for higher wages and more well-paid jobs for local people.