Sunday, December 12th, 2010
Christopher Pincher praises work of posties
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth paid an early morning call to Tamworth’s mail sorting office in Blythe Street to see for himself the efforts of our town’s postmen to get ready for Christmas.
The depot in Blythe Street employs 135 postal workers handling tens of thousands of letters and parcels each day. The Christmas rush has already begun with cards and gift parcels moving through the system.
Mr. Pincher said:
“I had a good look around the busy sorting office and found out how mail packages arrive at the depot, are opened and sorted into walks (the post office term for a postie’s “round”) then bundled up and bagged ready for delivery – and all by about 0930 in the morning. I was evening able to collect my own post saving my postman a small job!”
“Christmas is the busiest time for our local postal staff and they really do a fantastic job when you see the volume of mail they have to deal with. Thank you to Ian Bennett and his team for showing me around.”
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
Local Conservatives have launched a campaign to get Tamworth’s Town Centre shops open on Sundays. Currently Sunday shoppers only have a choice of Ventura Retail Park or going to other town centres. Local Conservatives believe this needs to change and have been working hard at the council to support the town centre. These include themed markets, more outdoor events, free Sunday parking on council run car parks, a £2 million investment in the Castle, Midlands Music Festival, award winning CCTV system and the new Gungate development. However, we believe more needs to be done and we are campaigning to get the town centre shops open on Sunday’s.
Cllr Daniel Cook, Leader of Tamworth Borough Council said,
“The council is doing a lot to bring residents, visitors and tourists into the town centre. However unless all our shops open on Sundays we can only do so much. We need to come together as a town to support our town centre shops and help them open on Sundays”
He added
“Local Conservative Councillors will be looking at the new Local Economic Partnerships to support town centre trading in Tamworth. The new Government is launching many new schemes to support local businesses and Conservative councillors will be using each one to help local businesses.”
Cllr Robert Pritchard, who announced the Conservative campaign said,
“I called at the State of the Borough Debate for town centre businesses, the public and the council to work together to make Sunday a town centre trading day. This is not something the council can do but something the whole town can work together to achieve. Tamworth Town Centre trading on Sunday can only be good for Tamworth, its economy and local job prospects”.
He added,
“The town centre being an even better trading environment will attract even more high street shops and restaurants to Tamworth. Local Conservatives are passionate about the town centre and want to work with local businesses to improve our town for everyone.”
Tamworth Borough Council already holds many outdoor events on Sundays which attract thousands of people to Tamworth. Recently the Midlands Music Festival brought over 20,000 people to Tamworth Town Centre.
Cllr Steven Claymore, Portfolio holder for Economic Development said
“Local Conservatives are calling on everyone to sign their petition which will be presented to the local chamber of commerce. To show your support you can sign the petition online at www.tamworthsos.co.uk.”
He added,
“We will be collecting signatures in Tamworth Town Centre on Saturday 11th December 2010. I hope everyone will come down and sign our giant postcard from Tamworth Residents. This will be presented to the Chamber of Commerce.”
Conservative councillors will be collecting signatures in Tamworth town Centre on Saturday 11th December.
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, lent his backing to this month’s British Pub celebrations. The celebration of British pubs runs through November and is designed to salute one of Britain’s most treasured local institutions: the local pub.
Mr. Pincher says:
“The local pub is important for many people; it functions much more than just a place to drink or eat in a supervised and secure environment. It is a pillar of the community providing a venue for local people to meet and hold events. I believe pubs are vital in promoting community spirit.”
“I support the Chancellor’s recent decision to reverse the Labour Government’s increase in cider rate (10% above inflation!) as well as his decision not to increase the large alcohol duty bequeathed by Labour. I am also working with the Government to provide meaningful assistance to the pub industry, and I am pleased they are looking at proposals to review alcohol taxation so it does not penalise pubs and the responsible drinkers that use them.”
“Finally, I encourage people in and around the town to submit to me their favourite pub in the Tamworth Constituency. As a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group I can suggest individual pubs to receive awards for serving great beer and food. Obviously I have my favourites but I think everybody should decide! I hope to see you in one of our town’s great pubs soon.”
If you would like to nominate your local pub (or any other pub you like) for an All Party Parliamentary Beer Group award please send the name of the pub and the reasons why to christopher.pincher.mp@parliament.uk.
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Hopwas, Hints and Tamworth’s Member of Parliament, Christopher Pincher, has said the announcement that Staffordshire County Council’s announcement that it opposes the High Speed Rail route through the county means “HS2 has some more very difficult questions to answer.”
The County Council has said that it opposes the route in principle “as it brings too few benefits to the county and its people.”
Mr Pincher continued:
“I have asked several questions of government about the business case for HS2 about which I think there remain serious concerns. I have also asked the Department for Transport to confirm what benefit it thinks this rail line will bring to Staffordshire. They say they have no analysis, which worries me.”
“Thanks to the efforts of local campaigners, the press and local MPs, the government knows very well about local opinion. But I am particularly concerned that we don’t end up simply passing the HS2 problem from one local village to another. I do not want to see that happen. People need to work together on this issue. And the announcement by the government last month that it is changing from an “S” shaped to a “Y” shaped route presents an opportunity for an alignment that could avoid our part of the world. That outcome is worth campaigning for – both now, before the announcement of the preferred route in December and, if necessary, afterward. “
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth and Member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, spoke up for Energy Saving Week which is taking place this week.
Mr. Pincher said:
“Saving energy is not only vitally important for the environment but it also has obvious personal economic advantages. The less energy we use the lower our energy bills will be.”
“For example, turning down the thermostat by only one degree will reduce your total carbon footprint and could save you £100 yearly. There are many other things you can do and these are all on the Energy Saving Trust’s website or call 0800 512 012.”
“On a personal note, I am walking to the House of Commons this week rather than taking the tube and have turned down my own thermostat. And this week I will be seeing Energy Minister Charles Hendry to talk about energy and fuel issues facing local people.”
“It is also worth noting the Parliamentary Question I asked earlier on this year where I discovered that in 2010 there were 4,000 houses in Tamworth in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is defined as having to spend more than 10% of income to adequately heat a house. This is a big number but fortunately companies like EAGA exist to help. If any one feels that they are in fuel poverty or are paying too much for their heating bills I would advise them to call Home Heat Helpline especially before it gets colder! They offer free and practical advice which often helps you save money on their heating bills and will inform you if there are schemes that will give you grants on insulation. This is particularly important for elderly or vulnerable people so please call now before it gets colder. Their helpline phone number is 0800 33 66 99.”
“The government is helping vulnerable people by keeping the Winter Fuel Payment and making permanent the increases to the Cold Weather Payments. We are also changing the way pensions work. By linking pensions to earnings we will increase the pension to help the most vulnerable with their income and fuel payments. This, in conjunction with support to councils to freeze council tax, should help people keep their bills as low as possible.”
Useful websites:
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
http://www.homeheathelpline.org.uk/
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
Tamworth’s Member of Parliament, Christopher Pincher, and Leader of Tamworth Council, Cllr Danny Cook, have joined forces over concerns at further planned development at Ventura Retail Park. In 2004 Tamworth Borough Council turned down additional retail developments on empty land at Ventura Retail Park due to traffic volume worries.
The Council’s decision was overturned by the Planning Inspectorate and former Secretary of State for Transport, John Prescott. The Inspectorate gave permission to the developers with the condition that they place traffic lights on the Ventura Park and Jolly Sailor traffic islands. Construction work on both islands is due to start in January. The MP and the Conservative Council are concerned that this will lead to further congestion at Ventura.
Christopher Pincher said:
“It is clear neither the Planning Inspectorate nor John Prescott knew much about Tamworth when they overruled to local council. The decision made several years ago may haunt us for years to come. The Borough Council, unfortunately, is powerless to stop this. The ‘London knows best’ approach of the last government robbed local people of their opportunity to influence local infrastructure. The new government is starting to turn this around but I fear that will come too late to halt the plans for Ventura Park.”
“I have yet to be convinced this will help the traffic movement around Ventura Park. I am concerned we may end up with grid lock for several months and worse congestion as a permanent feature thereafter. “
Mr. Pincher has promised to do all he can to support the Council in its desire to review the proposals and confirm their viability.
Cllr Daniel Cook, Leader of the Council, said:
“I support the creation of Jobs and income coming into the town. It is important that we make this drive sustainable and think long term. The current developments offer this but give me serious concern about the extra traffic using Ventura. I need to see more evidence that traffic lights are the answer. My key concern is standing traffic. Tamworth Borough Council turned down both planning applications due to reasons of traffic impact. Building both sets of lights at the same time could cause chaos.”
He added:
“Yet the former government then agreed them both with traffic lights at Jolly Sailor and Sainsbury’s roundabouts. This was not locally planned and we need to check if the idea has merit, this is the main worry I have about the project. I think the people of Tamworth need more of a say in the changes at Ventura. I pledge to investigate the changes to the road network at Ventura and report my finding back to the people of Tamworth as soon as I can”.
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth, this week presented a petition against proposed court closures signed by nearly two thousand local residents to the Ministry of Justice in London.
Mr Pincher presented the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) petition against recommendations from Her Majesty’s Court Service to close both Tamworth magistrates’ and county courts which will see magistrates’ duties split between Burton and Cannock and county court services diverted to far away Stafford.
Mr Pincher said, “I am grateful to Tamworth’s CAB for organising this petition signed by nearly two thousand local people. The petition will send a clear message to the Ministry of Justice that many people object to these proposals which I believe have not been properly thought through. We fully understand that savings need to be made but given the superior facilities, location and current usage of the Tamworth courts, the Ministry should reconsider its closure proposals and look elsewhere for savings. I fear that with police officers and council staff having to travel further for longer to give evidence, this cut will be a false economy.”
David Gooding, District Manager at Tamworth CAB, said, “We recognise the need to review the use of local courts, especially where court premises are underused but this is not the case in Tamworth. The Tamworth Courts are integral to the community they serve and closure will leave limited options for people facing court hearings. For example, it’s vital that anyone who may need to can reach a court in time for its first hearing at 10 am. If the local court is closed down, it may be extremely difficult for some people to manage this, especially if they live in areas with limited transport options.”
Monday, September 20th, 2010
Christopher Pincher, Tamworth’s Member of Parliament, and the Fazeley Park restaurant owner and Tamworth’s nominee Sukkur Miah, attended the launch of the Newby Teas Tiffin Cup 2010 in London this week. The challenge has been running for four years and this year a record 74 MPs nominated a restaurant from their constituency in the quest to find Britain’s Best South Asian restaurant.
Fazeley Park restaurant celebrated their success as a regional finalist at the prestigious Red Fort Indian restaurant in London’s Soho where Mr. Pincher joined them. They will now compete for a place in the Grand Final of the Newby Teas Tiffin Cup 2010 which is to take place on Tuesday 9 November 2010 in the House of Commons. The finalists will cook for celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott who will judge the best restaurant.
This year’s competition will be in aid of World Vision which works globally to speak out for children affected by injustice and poverty.
Christopher Pincher said:
“The launch of the Newby Teas Tiffin Cup is an exciting opportunity for Fazeley Park restaurant, our town’s nominee. I am sure that it will be a close fought contest, but am confident that following the support and enthusiasm of everyone in Tamworth, Fazeley Park has a great chance to clinch the winner’s prize at the Grand Final.”
“And given the competition is in support for World Vision, it is all for an excellent cause”.
Monday, August 9th, 2010
Christopher Pincher, Tamworth’s Member of Parliament, met with Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly on Monday to lobby him personally to veto the closure of Tamworth’s Magistrates’ and County courts. Both courts are set to close under recommendations from Her Majesty’s Court Service to save money which will see magistrates’ duties split between Burton and Cannock and county court services diverted to Stafford. Both changes, Mr. Pincher believes, will have a deleterious impact on Tamworth, which has the busiest magistrates’ court in the county.
Mr. Pincher met privately with the minister for half an hour outlining the reasons why Tamworth’s courts should stay open focussing on their high utilisation rate as well as their facilities and location. Tamworth’s court system benefits from its own suit of cells, video conferencing so that prisoners and others can be interviewed remotely, a 400 space car park across the road and a police station next door. Tamworth’s facilities are also far more accessible to the disabled than other local courts.
Following the meeting Mr. Pincher said:
“I am pleased Jonathan Djanogly agreed to see me which I think shows how seriously he is taking the issue of court closures. I do not doubt that we currently have too many courts in the county but closing one of the busiest, best equipped and most accessible of all of them just does not make sense to me. So I will campaign for a rethink. The Minister has specifically asked me to ensure I contribute to the consultation so the issues I raised can be looked at formally by him and his team.”
“I pointed out that if our court services move to Burton court which has no cells of its own and relies on those in the local police station, we run the risk of overcrowding in Burton police station. When that happened in Stafford the local police withdrew their cells from court use. If the same thing happens in Burton the court there could be thrown into chaos. Mr. Djanogly recognised this as a real concern.”
All input to the consultation on the closure of Tamworth’s magistrates’ and county courts will be considered by HMCS which is considering closing 103 courts in England and Wales. The deadline for submission is 15th September. Respondents can write to the following address with their views.
Mrs Tessa Ellis
Head of Operations
Her Majesty’s Court Service
PO Box 2676 Comberton Place
Kidderminster
DY10 1WE
Friday, August 6th, 2010
This morning I went over to our historic town hall to sign the Mayor’s book as Tamworth’s new Member of Parliament. A real honour. Thanks especially to our Mayor Cllr. Lee Bates and Derek from Democratic Services – and Warren and Rob for taking the pictures.
Later as I was leaving I ran into Ian Gibbons who, along with Lee, is a stalwart of Tamworth’s arts scene. We had a joke about how he’s redder than Lenin but there’s no doubt Ian does a lot for our town. He has asked me to help him with a couple of projects which will be interesting so I will be in touch with him again soon.
Now I’m back in the office dealing with constituency correspondence. The team are on dress down Friday – which in Warren’s case means no tie! Very jolly atmosphere in the office despite another grey August day.
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