Alan Strickland
Main Page: Alan Strickland (Labour - Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) County Durham: Cultural Opportunities
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Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent speech about the rich cultural heritage of County Durham. Does she agree that a key part of that cultural heritage is the history of the Stockton and Darlington railway, of which we celebrated the 200th anniversary before Christmas, and which runs through my constituency? Would she join me in encouraging Ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and other cultural partners, to continue to celebrate that heritage railway, so that we can attract tourism and investment in the future, and the industrial heritage that we are proud of?
Mary Kelly Foy
Once again, I could not agree more. Of course, it was the railway that took the coal from Newcastle down to London. That built the wealth of this country, so we have to remember where it started. Those tourism opportunities need to be encouraged by our county council.