One of my top priorities as your new MP will be working to support investment into our area which will give a boost to local business and create jobs. In Folkestone, the regeneration of the harbour and seafront will be vital to the future of the local economy. On Monday I attended the public presentation given at The Quarterhouse in Tontine Street, by Roger De Haan’s Folkestone Harbour Company, where they unveiled the new regeneration plan created by the leading architect Sir Terry Farrell.

This is a bold and creative plan for the seafront in Folkestone that will help to create more opportunities for local people, and could also attract new businesses to invest in the area. These are good foundations on which to build, and I look forward to seeing the plans develop through the consultation process. You can find out more about this, and also the public consultation process by visiting www.folkestoneseafront.com

I am also interested in how local heritage can be integrated into the new plans for the Harbour. If you have read my columns before you will know that I am Chairman of the Step Short project that is working to mark the role of Folkestone during the First World War as the main port for soldiers to travel to the battlefields. In particular we would like to achieve this in time for the centenary of the outbreak of the War, in 2014, and I will be meeting with the Imperial War Museum in a few weeks time to see if we can draw on their support with this as well.

My first week in Westminster was dominated by the negotiations between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on the arrangements for the new coalition government. At the meeting of Conservative MPs with David Cameron , which I attended, we gave him our backing to secure an agreement which would create the stable government the country so badly needs. With the world economy in such a turbulent state, and the debts run up by our Government at a record level for peace time, we need to be able to work and plan with a degree of certainty. The Coalition Government has agreed proposals to start reducing Government waste now, to reduce taxes on business and jobs, and to support working people on low incomes. There will also be a Budget presented to Parliament before the end of June which will set out the Government’s plans on taxes and spending in more detail.

The new Government has also confirmed the commitment that was in the Conservative manifesto to the build new nuclear power stations, to help provide the secure supply of clean energy that the country needs. On the day following the announcement of the new Cabinet, I wrote to Chris Huhne, the new Secretary of State for Energy requesting an update on the consideration of Dungeness as a potential site for a new power station, and I look forward to updating you on his response. A new power station at Dungeness could create thousands of new jobs, and along with the development of the seafront in Folkestone could provide a major stimulus to our economy.

Previous posts by Damian on Romney Marsh Times:
> My first article as the MP for Folkestone and Hythe
> How can we solve the Stack-attack

Damian Collins can be reached via www.DamianCollins.com

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions of The Romney Marsh Times or its owners and we assume no responsibility for such content.