Priti Patel MP, Member of Parliament for Witham, recently met with senior leadership at Maldon District Council with Maldon MP Sir John Whittingdale to raise a number of pressing concerns and issues constituents have raised with her, including over health facilities, planning, unauthorised development in Woodham Mortimer and the Council's handling of redevelopment works at the Blackwater Leisure Centre.
Both Priti and John raised the urgent and longstanding issue of the St Peter’s hospital site and the need to secure local health services in Maldon Town based upon the recent report by the working group under the Chairmanship of James Halden, which has now issued its recommendations which are to be considered by the Integrated Care Board. These recommendations have been warmly welcomed by the local community and progress is needed in securing the long term future of health provision to meet local needs in the District. Priti said:
"We need guarantees about future health facilities in the District to support the needs of our growing and ageing population. The Council can have a role to play in making this happen and John and I will keep working on this and standing up for our residents."
Priti also discussed with the council local concerns regarding the lack of action over the unauthorised Traveller site along the A414 at Woodham Mortimer, which has been an ongoing issue for several months. Priti has met with local residents who have reported unacceptable blight, the burning of rubbish, asbestos dumping, and intimidation. She strongly conveyed these concerns to the Council and residents' frustrations with poor communications and a lack of robust enforcement action to address breaches of planning controls at the site. Priti said:
"Residents in Woodham Mortimer are shocked by the disruption being caused and rules being broken at this site. The Council needs to raise its game and urgently improve communications with residents and look at taking robust action to put a strop to this appalling situation."
Priti raised the issue of the Blackwater Leisure centre and the Council’s poor handling of this matter following a number of complaints from local residents and groups who will no longer be able to use the leisure centre following the council’s changes to Blackwater Leisure Centre.
The changes being made to facilities have meant longstanding groups operating from the leisure centre have needed to move as the main hall is being repurposed for alternative uses. Groups, including the High Rollers Wheelchair Basketball Club, and people who use the hall for five-a-side football and badminton, have been affected with just weeks to find alternative locations.
Priti told the council that: “Residents across the District who use the Blackwater Leisure Centre are deeply concerned about the changes that have been made, lack of communications from the Council and the disruption caused by needing to fund new facilities. The Council has failed to communicate effectively and there seems to be a lack of a clear plan to support all groups affected as early as possible. This situation is deeply disappointing, and we will keep pressing the Council for answers and to do better for the District’s residents and those who use the leisure centre. While many groups have found alternative venues, this whole situation should have been handled better.”
Priti also slammed the unworkable housing targets from the Labour government to more than double housing targets in the Maldon District without providing any new infrastructure. Priti has consistently maintained this policy is completely unsustainable and another illustration of the Labour Party’s contempt towards Essex and their hostility to rural communities like ours. Priti said:
"Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves want to concrete over Essex with their massive increase in housing targets. There is no justification for demanding that Maldon doubles its targets, especially when Labour is refusing to fund the infrastructure we need to support economic growth, jobs and are already growing population."
