Mid Sussex Member of Parliament, Nicholas Soames, held a meeting on local infrastructure requirements at East Court in East Grinstead on Friday 17th March.

Nicholas said of the meeting; “I called this seminar to bring together everyone who has a stake in securing a proper infrastructure to cope with the development imposed on East Grinstead and elsewhere in Mid Sussex by the Government.”

Addressing the meeting were County Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of SEERA, Richard Lemon, Head of Infrastructure at GOSE and Judith Hewitt, Head of Planning Policy at Mid Sussex District Council.

Mr Soames said “We discussed matters vital to the quality of life to everyone who lives in Mid Sussex. There is nothing more important than the supply of water, health service provision, public transport, education and roads and the Government’s investment in Mid Sussex falls well below what is acceptable in any area of high growth like that we are having to cope with. “

“I am calling for the Government to be more even-handed in its investment in infrastructure. In Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and in East Grinstead substantial developments are to take place and the Government must see to it that local residents have their fair share of infrastructure investment. I am confident that the Deputy Prime Minister will get the powerful message from this meeting that we cannot proceed with all this housing without infrastructure investment at the same time.”

Amongst the attendees were Mr Soames’s Parliamentary colleagues; Peter Ainsworth, Francis Maude, Nick Herbert, Tim Loughton; Councillors and Officers from West Sussex and Surrey County Councils, the Leader and Chief Executive of Mid Sussex District Council; District and Town Councillors and representatives from the Highways Agency, the Mid Sussex Primary Care Trust, EDF Energy and the Environment Agency and South East Water.

Notes:-

For Nicholas Soames’s intervention during Nick Herbert’s Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons on Water Shortages (West Sussex) on Thursday 16th March 2006 please click below

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