Last Wednesday evening saw a surprising and welcome u-turn from the Lib Dems at South Somerset District Council in voting against the planning application for a homeless shelter at Acacia Lodge, Hendford Hill. It had looked likely to succeed as backed by council officers and the Leader but was wrong in many ways and generated considerable articulate opposition. I had made my objections clear and wrote to the Secretary of State with my concens and I hope that had some influence in the committee’s decision.
Aside from the valid issues of local safety impact, the conversion of the old building was simply unsuitable for the potential residents. As charities such as the Trussell Trust acknowledge, there are often many factors that lead to someone becoming homeless but addiction and mental health problems are often part and to be put in an environment with many others with similar issues is not going to give most people their best chance of turning things around.
This should be the point at which the Council gets serious about redevelopment of long promised town centre sites into which Pathways' current location could be contributed, to include distributed but supported unit living as part of a wider regeneration. One of the reasons I am backing Liz Truss to be the next Prime Minister is her drive for reform that could help town centres, such as on business rates and incentives for brownfield site development.
It is one of many reasons she is seen as the best person to unite the Conservative Party and country and take us forward with a better plan than the Opposition.
Throughout the summer I have been continuing to raise the importance of opportunity in Yeovil and throughout the South West being supported by defence procurement. The recent announcement of the £60million contract for Leonardo to build cutting-edge uncrewed helicopters for the Ministry of Defence, and ongoing support contracts for existing platforms, are good signs of the mutually beneficial partnership between the two. The opportunuty for AW149 to fill the MoD's new medium-lift requirement of course remains key and I have raised this directly with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in recent weeks.
It’s not only the 10,000 jobs supported in the company and supply chain that are crucial but also our strategic capabilities as a nation and the potential to have helicopters designed and built here in the UK exported to partners across the world.
While on trade, this week the Government launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme which will cut tariffs on hundreds of goods we import from 65 countries including in Africa and the Americas. These include some of the poorest countries in the world so it’s great to support their trade, and it will lower costs for consumers here.
Finally, thoughts are with Salman Rushdie and his family this week after the appalling attack he suffered. Freedom of thought and speech and tolerance are fundamental British values and there can be no excuse for violent assault. Indeed the Prophet himself recommended taking oneself away from opinions with which one disagrees rather than becoming perplexed by them. Let's remember the peace at the heart of all religions properly practiced.