Thursday, 24 February 2022

Newspaper column 24 February 2022 - Storm Eunice and ASB update

 

From the middle of last week through the weekend saw Cornwall dominated by storms, particularly Storm Eunice, which came in over Friday morning, and led to a very rare Red Weather Warning being issued for the north parts of Cornwall. Despite the Red Weather Warning only covering part of Cornwall, in reality, we actually saw massive disruption and power cuts all across Cornwall right through the weekend.

Understandably there was a lot of travel and education disruption, but as ever in difficult times, Cornwall pulled through, and I would like to thank all of the emergency services, highways workers, Western Power, Red Cross and community volunteers who worked flat out to keep our roads clear and services going while the storms raised outside.

I would like to single out in particular two of our local councillors who made a big difference for their communities through the weekend. Karen Glasson, Cornwall Councillor for Probus and St Erme helped St Erme Parish to source a generator so they could set up a community hub to deliver hot water and food to vulnerable residents, as well as support from the Red Cross.

Meanwhile, Peter Williams, Cornwall Councillor for Mylor, Perranarworthal & Ponsanooth, liaised with my office on Saturday to get support and medical care for a vulnerable local resident who was dependant on having electricity to enable their adaptations to work, ensuring this person was looked after at a difficult time.

Just two examples, that I am sure were replicated across our constituency to ensure that we supported our communities through a difficult time.

Although my work plans were also disrupted towards the end of last week, I was able to get a lot done in our constituency in the first part of the week, as we were in February Recess, when Parliament does not sit and I can work around Truro and Falmouth.

Firstly on Monday, I had a really productive meeting with our local police and various agencies looking at the anti-social behaviour issue in Truro, particularly in the light of the disturbing incident from the previous weekend.

I can assure the people who live and work in Truro that there will be a targeted and robust approach to tackling with the spate in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Tackling anti-social behaviour in Truro has now been made a strategic priority for the police force and we will get additional resource to tackle this.

The biggest issue at the minute in Truro is a very small minority of youths.

As well as action from the police, there needs to be more youth provision in Truro to get the youths causing the issues off the street.

All our focus on now is on de-escalating the issues in Truro and making people feel safe and ensuring Truro remains a safe place to live, work and grow up in.

I also spent time last week visiting businesses and organisations in Falmouth.

On Tuesday I was fortunate enough to meet with the School Parliament at King Charles Primary School in Falmouth, answering questions from the pupils ranging from the environment to housing. It is one of the favorite parts of my job to speak to our young people about what matters to them, and is something I hope to be able to do much more of in the future as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Last week I also met with several local businesses in Falmouth, including SouthPaw Dog Store in the middle of town. I was so pleased to learn that everything sold in the shop was made here in the UK, championing other small British businesses. If like me you have a canine friend, please do head down and take a peek at the wonderful products in stock.

It was also really useful to speak to a variety of businesses in Falmouth about their experiences of the pandemic, their future plans, and how I can support them as their Member of Parliament. If you would like me to visit your business, please get in touch.

As ever, if you need my assistance with anything then my team and I are here to help. Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. My regular constituency advice surgeries are held in a covid-safe environment at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any matters that I can be of assistance with.

 

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