Coastal Communities: Government Support
Debate between Jessica Toale and Neil Duncan-Jordan(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Neil Duncan-Jordan
My hon. Friend makes a positive point on something that has been overlooked in Government debates until today. We need to recognise the differences between the various parts of our country, celebrate those differences, but also recognise the unique problems that they all face.
Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)
My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is right to point out Poole’s history as a fishing and port town; like my constituency, however, it is also a tourism town. Bournemouth has millions of visitors every year; most of them come to spend a nice time, but some come to drink excessively, start fights and disrespect residents and our local area, putting excessive pressure on our police forces. Would my hon. Friend agree that, where those seasonal pressures are predictable, forces such as Dorset police should have a fair funding formula to reflect that?
Neil Duncan-Jordan
I agree with my hon. Friend and neighbour, and I will make that point later in my speech, if colleagues will let me make some progress.
Life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy are all lower in coastal areas, and the gap between more affluent and poorer areas continues to widen. Professor Whitty makes it clear that high levels of deprivation, driven in part by major and long-standing challenges with local economies and employment, are important reasons for the poor health outcomes in coastal communities. That means we need a new approach to dealing with the gap in life expectancy between those with limited incomes and those with large amounts of wealth. Tackling the social determinants of ill health such as housing, employment opportunities, access to healthcare and education is key to bringing about a healthier society.
One of the key features linking all our coastal communities is the water that surrounds us. Poole harbour is both scientifically and environmentally important and it needs to be protected. The beauty of the harbour lies in the stark contrast between ecosystems, ranging from intertidal salt marshes and mudflats to freshwater marshes, reed beds and wet grasslands. Visitors will also discover a wide range of wintering, migrating and breeding birds. However, most of Dorset’s rivers suffer from high levels of both nitrate and phosphate pollution.
High Street Rental Auctions
Debate between Jessica Toale and Neil Duncan-Jordan(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Jessica Toale
Yes, these auctions are a promising step forward and could be transformational for many towns across the country. I will come on to the local authority points in a moment.
The auctions require landlords to lease properties within a certain timeframe, preventing them from leaving spaces empty for years on end. The time restriction of 365 days in a 24-month period will help to tackle the persistent problem of vacant properties, which is a huge opportunity for communities such as mine in Bournemouth West. By enabling councils to take action, we can reintegrate those spaces into our high streets and bring them back to life.
However, it is crucial that we think about the long-term sustainability of this approach. I have been assured by landlords and agents in my constituency that there is a genuine desire to fill empty commercial properties, but business rates, antisocial behaviour and even parking charges constitute barriers, so to landlords it is important to say that the approach should be a tool of last resort. It is clear that such measures should be used only once a genuinely collaborative and good-faith approach between landlords and councils has been exhausted. The auctions should be seen in the context of other measures to which this Government have committed, ranging from supporting small businesses and tackling crime and antisocial behaviour in our town centres to the long-term reform of business rates. I am pleased that we are making progress on all these issues.
High street rental auctions are not just about filling vacancies. They are about creating vibrant, sustainable environments for businesses, residents and visitors alike, so can my hon. Friend the Minister provide assurances that high street rental auctions will not see our high streets filled with more vape shops and American candy shops? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] They can often be fronts for money laundering and other criminal activity. Additionally, we need to ensure that our local authorities have the resources and capacity to manage these changes.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for securing this important debate. Our local authority, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council, is part of the early adopters programme for this scheme, but when I contacted it recently to ask about the number of properties that it had identified in our area that were going to be part of the scheme, it told me that it was just one. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that we need to see a more ambitious approach from local authorities for the scheme really to be worth while?
Jessica Toale
I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour from Poole for the intervention. I certainly hope that our local authority will take an ambitious approach and I am working very closely with it to help it to identify areas within Bournemouth town centre. BCP council has expressed concern about the cost of having to implement such measures, and the potential for expensive legal challenges it may face as a result. I would be grateful if the Minister would outline how we can mitigate some of those issues, and how the £1.5 million that has been set aside is intended to be used.
I underline that this is a moment for action. The powers granted to local councils are a great step forward, but we need to ensure that the changes are not simply superficial. We must think about how we can make our high streets and the commercial offering work for everyone —for businesses, our communities and the economy as a whole. I will continue to champion the revitalisation of our high streets in Parliament; by working together, we can ensure that our high streets become the thriving, vibrant centres that they were always meant to be.
It is fantastic to see my hon. Friends the Members for Bassetlaw (Jo White) and for Mansfield (Steve Yemm), and my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) was meant to be here as well. Their local authorities are also early adopters of the scheme. I look forward to hearing their contributions and to continuing this important conversation. I also encourage other Members to speak to their own local authorities and push them to join this initiative.
We have a real opportunity to break the vicious cycles that I mentioned at the beginning of this speech, and to turn them into virtuous circles, where we fill our shops, increase footfall, reduce antisocial behaviour, and again build pride in our town centres and high streets across the country.