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PAGE Victory for the PAGE £25 million A595 campaign. investment in New bypass on the Barrow’s town 2 way for Grizebeck! 3 centre. BARROW & MATTERS SIMON FELL MP – ANNUAL REPORT £49.4 million secured to level up Barrow and Furness in 12 months

In December 2019, I was honoured to be elected as the MP for Barrow and Furness. You were generous enough to put your faith in me and, through the past year, I’ve been working to earn your trust while doing the best job in the world. No one could have foreseen what an extraordinary year 2020 would be for everyone, but at least now the rollout of a vaccine offers us real hope for 2021. Even against the backdrop of the virus, Barrow and Furness has shown that it is an amazing place with so many Simon Fell MP chats with local campaigners about the need for the bypass to be delivered at Dove Ford, Grizebeck. people working tirelessly for support it deserves from the together with members of fund bid which will be This leaflet sets out just some the community. I want to keep Government, to secure our our community, we’ve seen transformational for us, of the progress we have made it that way, and my team and proud shipbuilding industry, more than £49 million of and the new bypass at Dove together during the last year. I are grateful to be working back our public services, and extra funding coming into Ford will make commutes with you, both residents and ensure that we have a bright Furness. This is on top of any to and from High Furness those in business, to make our future. additional funding to help safer, smoother and faster area the best it can be. I’m I was elected to ‘Level Up’ during the pandemic. for motorists – significant fighting every day for Furness areas like ours. Working to gain the recognition and Of note was the successful investments to level up across Government and £25 million Town Deal our region.

Promoted by Ben Shirley on behalf of Simon Fell MP, both of Barrow and Furness Working together for Barrow and Furness Conservative Association, 93 Market Street, Dalton in Furness, LA15 8DL. Printed by Finger Prints, Unit 3, Andrew’s Court, Andrew’s Way, Barrow in Furness, LA14 2UE. 2 | ANNUAL REPORT from Simon Fell MP Saving Askam’s GP Surgery Patients contacted me in dismay when the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) announced in February that Askam’s Parklands Surgery would close when the current GP retired in June. For a community like Askam, a local GP is a must. In May, I presented a petition to the Health Secretary in Parliament, calling for the service to be saved. In response, and working together with Parish, County and Borough Councillors, we set up a ‘Save Our Surgery’ working group. Together with the CCG, we managed to secure a new GP and, in December, the purchase of the practice building was complete. The new GP will begin delivering services from January. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign.

Askam’s Save our Surgery group of (L-R) Cllr Harry Barker, Cllr Mike Cumming, Cllr Daniel Edwards, Simon Fell MP, Cllr Ben Shirley and Cllr Sam Ronson. ‘Game- Simon Fell MP at the site of the proposed route for the new bypass changing’ local NHS debt Victory for write-off Over the summer, we received the welcome news that University Hospitals of NHS Foundation A595 campaign Trust (the trust which manages Furness General Hospital and lots of other local NHS services) had their historic debt the rest coming from the totalling over £290 million written off. I took the Chancellor there last The decision by the Health Secretary to year to see the bottleneck for Local Enterprise Partnership. This write off historic debt is game-changing himself. He was staggered, and is a huge step forward and is a real and will enable the Trust to plan for the The end is finally in I am delighted that his promises demonstration of the Government’s future and invest in vital services. sight for the ‘infamous have been translated into action. In promise to ‘level up’ communities I’m very pleased the Health Secretary October, we secured £12.7 million like ours. I hope to see the road in has listened to both me and local farmyard bottleneck’ on of funding from the Department of full use by 2025, and I won’t let the healthcare leaders on this and delivered the A595 at Grizebeck. Transport to build a bypass, with issue drop until it is delivered. for our local NHS trust because it now means that every penny can be spent on the front line, helping patients to get better, rather than on servicing historic PFI debts. 6,991 2,448 286 Combined with the seed funding which cases people Advice has been provided by the Government for Furness to develop plans for a opened helped surgeries A YEAR IN new hospital, we are seeing welcome NUMBERS investment in our local NHS services. ANNUAL REPORT from Simon Fell MP | 3 Transformational investment of £25 million On the road coming to Barrow – Summer formers, renewal of housing Surgery Tour stock, community hubs, and improved walking and cycling infrastructure. This At the end of is the first step to reversing an unfortunate trend that October we Furness and Cumbria is received the facing – with young people welcome news leaving our area. Being able to train and retain local that Barrow would people in our region will be one of the turn this tide and will tackle first towns to be some of the long-term In August, my team and I took to the inequalities we have in our road, holding surgeries in 20 different awarded a Town community. venues over five days. It was great to Deal – receiving This funding comes on meet so many people, in sunshine £25 million in the back of £1.1 million and rain, some with a warm welcome, in Historic High Streets some with problems, and some with funding from the funding for Duke Street. challenges. All of it was useful, not Government. Altogether, the projects will least to find out more about the unique issues faced in the different This funding will help play a huge part in levelling districts across the constituency. to transform Barrow by up Barrow, and making There were recurrent topics, like delivering, among other it an even more amazing speeding, broadband problems and things, a university campus, place to live, work and raise mobile phone coverage. Others were a skills hub for sixth a family. more varied – from high hedges, through to community tensions, and gulls. Through the week I spoke to over a hundred people. We also Protecting Walney carried out some community litter picks in High Furness, on Walney Several residents Island, and in Dalton. I would again approached me with like to thank everyone who hosted their fears about us, talked to us, shared their views, coastal erosion and or even just waved to say hello. I look tidal flooding on forward to doing it all again next year. Walney Island. I raised this direct with the Minister for Defence Procurement and with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I’ve also held meetings with the Minister for Tourism. Given all that Walney has to offer, I’m doing all that I can to protect this amazing place. Clearly we’ll need more evidence to spark action, so I am gathering this to convince Government that non-intervention will threaten homes, transport, tourism, defence, culture, and the natural environment. Getting one department onside won’t be enough, but with two or three, we stand a fighting chance of getting the Simon taking part in a community beach clean at Sandy Gap, funding needed to build robust flood defences.

Debates Public Meetings Community events spoken in Held attended £49.4m secured 30+ 12 100+ for Furness Figures correct at time of going to print in December 2020. 4 | ANNUAL REPORT from Simon Fell MP

Bringing better Working together to make Dalton safer Dalton residents have become improvements and, meanwhile, walking and cycling increasingly worried this year ask residents to report any about antisocial behaviour in incidents to the police by certain local hotspots. I’ve been phoning 101 or 999 in the case in regular dialogue with them, of an emergency. routes to Furness local community groups, councillors and the to bring this much-loved route back into policing team. As a result use. We hosted the campaign petition on my of our joint campaign, website during July and this was presented to Cumbria County Council in the autumn. Cumbria Police has We’re awaiting their formal response. In the committed to providing Coronavirus has only meantime, we’ll continue to lead the campaign a new community police to bring back more cycling and walking routes officer in Dalton by the highlighted just how important to connect High Furness with other areas of end of 2021. We’re also cycling and walking is for our community. working hard to secure an increase in foot patrols, many local people. CCTV and additional The Barrow area recently received £890,000 lighting around Chapel in additional funding to begin implementing Street, the leisure centre its own local cycling and walking infrastructure and play park. We’ll plan, to help more people choose active travel. keep pressing for these The strength of feeling about the need for improved cycling and walking infrastructure in Barrow and Furness also sparked our campaign for a new route from Ulverston and . Supporting our national To get the ball rolling, we held a meeting in September with key players including the defences and securing Minister for Cycling (Chris Heaton-Harris MP), the Department for Transport, Network Furness’ future Rail, Highways England and Cumbria County I am a firm supporter of our Barrow’s future and over Council. This went well, and I’ll continue to Armed Forces: that’s why I am 10,000 local jobs. This is also work with interested parties on these ambitious delighted that we are providing good news for Barrow, which plans so that more people can cycle and walk them with the largest financial will benefit not only from a with confidence throughout Furness, be it for boost since the Cold War, proportion of the £16.5bn commuting or pleasure. while exceeding our Manifesto increase in defence spending, I was also pleased to support High Furness Councillor Matt Brereton’s campaign to commitment to increase but also for the security this help cyclists and walkers avoid the A595 defence spending. As the Prime investment will bring our by reinstating the old cycle path between Minister said in his statement country, together with the jobs Broughton, Kirkby and Foxfield. We’re working to the House of Commons, we and prosperity it will deliver to together with the local area committee for Simon meets Cllr Brereton at the site of the former are pressing on with renewing our defence industry and our South Lakeland, and the local Parish Councils, cycling and walking path in Foxfield the nuclear deterrent, securing local supply chains.

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