People's quality of life is dependent on having great access to grassroots sports and leisure opportunities as well as culture. Increasing access to green spaces throughout the constituency, improving opportunities to participate in sports and supporting our cultural institutions are campaigning priorities.
What I’m campaigning on:
- We all know having access to the great outdoors is good for our mental and physical health. That’s why I’m campaigning to create a network of connected green spaces so that people can go from the Thames Chase Community Forest to new woodland being planted in Brentwood via Pages Wood.
- I am working with local creative, heritage and cultural groups on their own projects, from Upminster Windmill’s volunteer drive to securing funding for theatre groups like the Habbit Factory and restoring heritage assets at Langtons.
What we’ve achieved:
- I backed Upminster Cricket and Hockey Clubs’ successful bid to redevelop the current pavilion to include dedicated changing facilities for the many women and girls’ teams the clubs have.
- I worked with the Government in 2023 and 2024 to secure £841,000 for Harold Hill Central Park Leisure Centre from the Swimming Pool Support Fund.
- In 2022, Queen’s Theatre was given Grade II listed status by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It also received £1.44m worth of funding from Arts Council England earlier in the same year. This funding will run until 2025.
- In 2023, we secured £390,000 of funding from DCMS and the Lawn Tennis Association to resurface the tennis courts in Harold Wood Park, as well as make other improvements to football pitches and courts around the constituency.
- I’ve continued to lobby the Lower Thames Crossing to expand local woodlands to offset the development’s impact. The Conservative government granted the Forest money to expand via the Trees for Climate fund while the Lower Thames Crossing is planting a new woodland site at Hole Farm and intends to build a bridge over the A127 for cyclists and walkers.
