Dear Boscastle,
I had a great afternoon over at the Camelford Agricultural Show with Cornwall Councillor Mark Burnett recently, where we met constituents (of course including many from Boscastle!), community groups, and lots of North Cornwall’s farmers. Events like this are a fantastic opportunity to hear directly from local people, particularly those working in our farming communities, about the issues they are facing and the priorities they want me to take up.
I also held another in-person constituency surgery last week, helping constituents with their individual casework and concerns. I hold these surgeries regularly across our North Cornwall constituency, alongside telephone surgeries for those who would prefer to call in from home. If you would like to request an appointment, please email me at ben.maguire.mp@parliament.uk and my team can look into arranging a slot for you. I hope to hold one here in Boscastle soon, but there will be others in nearby towns & villages too in the meantime.
On another note, it was a real pleasure to meet lots of veterans at a local Royal British Legion branch, alongside local Cornwall Councillor Damon Dennis, to hear more about the excellent work of ‘Veterans Regroup’. Their multi-agency Armed Forces hubs provide welfare support, social events and activity days for veterans, serving personnel, reservists and their families across Cornwall. They meet at Launceston RBL every second Wednesday of the month, so I would encourage anyone who could benefit from their support to get in touch with them and their wonderful group.
We also heard some really brilliant news for North Cornwall’s other coastal communities recently, as we’ve finally reached an agreement to secure £400,000 of UK Government funding for new accessible toilets, changing facilities and showers up at Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches. This is a huge win for residents, visitors, local businesses and charities like AdSurf, who have campaigned for these facilities and will put them to wonderful use. Following feedback from local residents, the proposed overflow car park changes at Crooklets will not go ahead as part of these plans. The new facilities will also be designed to better withstand coastal erosion and sand inundation. A huge thank you to everyone who signed our petition, as well as Councillors Faye Emery and Nicky Chopak, Mayor Tony Gibbs and Lib Dem Council Leader Leigh Frost for helping to get this funding over the line and keep it in Bude. I’ll now keep working with them to see the facilities delivered.
Looking ahead, I’d like to remind everyone about our upcoming event focused on the climate crisis, food security and the future of our communities. The event is called ‘Our Climate, Your Voice’, and will bring together MPs, climate organisations, as well as local groups for a day of discussion and a special Q&A. I’ll be joined by Roz Savage MP and other guests, with the event taking place at the Old Library in Bodmin on Monday 24th August, from 10am to 3pm. The event will see us joined by local groups like the Two Bays Trust, intoBodmin, The Circular Mindset CIC, and The Cornish Food Box Company, and I’m looking forward to hearing directly from people across North Cornwall about the challenges and opportunities ahead.
I hope to see you there – and until next time, take care.
Ben Maguire MP
ben.maguire.mp@parliament.uk
