I am deeply passionate about our local area. I have had the privilege of growing up locally in South East Cornwall; going to school, working and raising my children here. During my professional working life I have lifeguarded local beaches, taught in schools and worked for the RNLI where I previously managed the lifeboat, lifeguard and water safety service in South East Cornwall and beyond. I volunteer as a parish councillor and since 2018 I have been chair of Safe38 campaigning for desperately needed safety improvements and fair funding on the A38.

Residents of South East Cornwall are hit with a double blow of expensive Tamar Bridge tolls and less than adequate transport infrastructure across all modes of transport not least seen in the performance of the Tamar Bridge and the A38. As such the economic impact of these two issues combined severely reduces the opportunities for individuals and businesses. There are often few quick fixes but with patience and determination change can be achieved as has been demonstrated with the A38. In the last few years we have seen a reduction in the killed and seriously injured rate between Carkeel and Trerulefoot, funding for safety improvements has been brought forward and larger improvements for the A38 are now a strategic priority for Cornwall Council and the wider South West region.

There have been big changes to the National Planning Framework recently which will result in more houses being built. We need to ensure that we don’t have uncontrolled development of our greenbelt areas and that local views and opinions are still an important part of the planning process. We need affordable houses for local people but we must get the funding we need for the schools, NHS, police and community infrastructure and services that will be needed for the sustainable growth of our towns and villages. We need to ensure that Cornwall gets it fair share of funding. We know that government spending per person in Cornwall is well below that of other parts of the UK and we need to ensure that we get fair funding for local people.

Having spent much of my working life either in or on the water, and being a keen surfer and swimmer, it goes without saying that I am passionate to ensure we have cleaner seas and rivers. We need to ensure that our marine environment is abundantly rich and full of life. So many of us use our rivers and seas for work, leisure, fitness and they are a big draw for many visitors and thus of huge economic importance. It was refreshing to see the CEO of South West Water being held to account by a select committee recently and we learnt that there is a plan to improve water quality albeit a 15 year one. We need to ensure that areas of concern in our local area are prioritised and South East Cornwall is not at the back of the queue as can so often be the case.