Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Davies Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that the hon. Gentleman shares our support for East West Rail, which is a vital project that will deliver better journeys and tens of thousands of jobs, and unlock up to 100,000 new homes. I agree that access to Bicester Village must be maintained—my children say that as well—and I think the company has put forward two options for replacing the crossing. I reassure him and his constituents that they will have the opportunity to express their views on what would work for them during the upcoming consultation.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

Q10. The regeneration of Belper mills—a large site with buildings, including grade I listed ones dating from the start of the industrial revolution, at the heart of the east midlands’ only UNESCO world heritage site—took a significant step forward last week, when planning permission for its redevelopment and conservation was finally granted. The Government want to provide more housing—rightly so—and sites like this, though very challenging, provide a very important opportunity to support that aspiration and share our national story. Can the Prime Minister tell me what support the Government are giving to regenerate at-risk listed buildings, and whether we are delivering support to train construction workers in heritage building techniques? May I ask him to take a personal interest in Belper mills, because it is an internationally significant site?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, because restoring Belper mills is not just about delivering the housing that his constituents want, but about restoring an iconic world heritage site in the east midlands. We are investing over £1.2 billion in skills, supporting apprenticeships—including courses focused on heritage construction—recruiting 60,000 more construction workers, and backing new technical excellence colleges, so that we have the workforce to build the homes the country needs.