Getting housing, jobs and transport into sustainable balance for Weston & the villages

For years, Weston has built too many houses without the jobs, schools, play areas, public transport and medical facilities which would turn them into sustainable and balanced communities instead of just dormitories. This has created all sorts of problems which have knock-on effects throughout Weston and the villages.

Over 20,000 local people commute from Weston to work every day. That isn’t environmentally sustainable and creates appalling queues at Junction 21 of the M5 during rush hour. We need more jobs in Weston to reduce commuting to Bristol, with better rail and bus links so commuters have a better alternative to using their cars on the M5. John has been pushing for major developments at Worle and Weston train stations so they can handle more passengers, and has already persuaded First Great Western to introduce more high-capacity intercity trains to reduce ‘sardine special’ overcrowding on commuter services at rush hours. He’s also been pushing the Government to accept North Somerset Council’s Weston Transport Package plan which will massively improve Junction 21 and help reduce the chaos and queues at rush-hour too.

The Government have been threatening to undo this progress through their Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). This would have seen 12,000 new houses built in Weston without the improvements in local jobs, roads, rail services, health services or community facilities needed to support the extra people they would bring. But after strong local opposition and lobbying by John and other regional MPs, as well as a High Court Judgement, they are reviewing their plans and it’s unlikely that they will be implemented before the next General Election. John is delighted that a Conservative Government is pledged to scrap Labour’s plans entirely, so Weston would be spared this disaster.

But the problems don’t just affect Weston – the villages are suffering as well. We need solutions for Banwell traffic which don’t simply create new jams in neighbouring villages such as Sandford or Churchill. That’s why John pushed successfully for the ban on long-distance HGVs which has led to a substantial reduction in lorries cutting through our villages – it isn’t a perfect solution, but at least it’s a significant step in the right direction after local residents had been waiting for 20 years when nothing had happened except for talk.

John has also been working alongside Liam Fox, neighbouring MP for Woodspring, for curbs on Bristol Airport’s expansion plans because of problems with eroding green belt, too much aircraft noise, and traffic jams caused by airport traffic through local villages. The airport has given ground by making big concessions on all these issues, although many local people in villages like Congresbury are still very concerned.

And it isn’t just local transport and jobs that we need to be sustainably balanced. We need investment to regenerate Weston too. The Government railroaded through Post Office closures throughout the country and, although Weston & the villages lost six, thanks to the hard work and commitment of John and other residents, two were saved from the chop. John’s also managed to stop the Government from cutting £6.5million earmarked for Weston’s regeneration – you can see the impact right now, because part of the money is helping to fund the rebuilding of Weston’s all-important seafront promenade.

So a good start has been made, but there’s a very long way still to go. Take Weston’s seafront: while Knightstone Island used to be an eyesore and has been completely redeveloped, and Weston’s Grand Pier is undergoing a £36million rebuild which could re-define our seafront, sites like the Tropicana and Dolphin Square are still untouched. Ultimately these sites are decisions for North Somerset Council – they own them, so they’re responsible for fixing them – but John has intervened to help wherever he can. He supported Richard Nightingale’s original bid to take over the Tropicana (the LibDem-controlled Council chose Henry Boot to develop it instead, who pulled out 3 years later without laying a single brick) and helped to smooth several potential pitfalls which could have derailed the Grand Pier’s rebuild as well. John says he will keep helping whenever and however he can, because local people are fed up with waiting for action when sites like the Tropicana are still dragging down our seafront after 20 years.

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