Nearly every week I receive a news alert of another accident along the A1, and each time I hold my breath hoping there is not another fatality, writes Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns (Con). All of us who drive the A1 regularly know how urgently further safety improvements are needed. Over 500 of you have now signed my petition calling on the Government and National Highways to improve the safety of the A1 between Stamford south and Little Ponton.
The more names we have, the stronger our calls will be, so please do email me and I’ll post you a petition to sign. As many of you will know, the extraordinary Mallard Pass Action Group (MPAG) has been looking into whether we have a legal case to take Ed Milband’s decision to approve Mallard Pass for construction to judicial review. Sadly, they have come to the conclusion that judicial review is not a viable option.
MPAG’s campaigning against Mallard Pass over the past few years has been incredible, with their love of our community shining through at every moment. I will continue to do all I can to fight against solar on agricultural land and secure the compensation package which gives our communities what we deserve, however I will also continue to try and stop the Mallard Pass mega-plant. In the meantime, I urge you all to respond to the Government’s consultation online about the proposed changes to national planning rules, highlighting the importance of protections for our agricultural land.
For three years I campaigned for greater protections and for the Government to prioritise food security, however this progress has all been put at risk. Angela Raynor has signaled she will scrap our important reforms, citing Mallard Pass as a reason Labour want to change the planning rules to make it easier to build this mega-solar plant. Going green must be done in the right way, not at the expense of our food security and the loss of our natural heritage.
In other news, residents of our Lincolnshire villages may have seen Anglian Water’s proposals for a new reservoir south-east of Sleaford . Its construction will directly impact many of our villages so having listened to your views, I raised your feedback in my response to Anglian Water’s consultation. I look forward to discussing this with Anglian Water in the coming months to minimise disruption to our communities.
It’s been a joy to spend so much time in our communities over the summer months, including a recent visit to the wonderful Mill Farm Butchers in Manthorpe . It was a pleasure to meet the three generations of women running this family business and flying the flag for inspirational female powerhouses in Lincolnshire! With only a fortnight to go until the Defender Burghley Horse Trials, it was good to meet with the CEO of Burghley House Preservation Trust David Pennell to hear how preparations are going and learn more about the history of this beautiful estate. It was a fitting time to visit the day after Stamfordian Edward Lowe won an incredible silver medal at the Paris Olympics, as I learnt that Lord David Burghley represented Team GB as the first Stamford athlete to compete at a Paris Olympics back in 1924! Finally in national news, I know many of you are deeply disappointed by Labour’s cuts to winter fuel allowances.
With energy bills set to rise by around £155 at Christmas, too many pensioners are being left to get ill in cold, damp homes while Labour prioritises raising the average salary of a train driver to just shy of £70,000 on a four-day week. I will be doing all I can to hold Labour to account on this, and I will be running an awareness campaign this autumn to ensure everyone eligible for pension credits is signed up..
