Push for Filey to get name recognition
MP wants new constituency to include the name of the town ahead of changes
Filey could soon have a new Member of Parliament and a new name for its constituency.
The Government is consulting on a Boundary Commission review to reduce the number of seats in the 2020 Parliament by 50 to 600.
Under the plans, Filey would join with its local authority partners Whitby and Scarborough to form the new seat.
This would mean leaving MP Kevin Hollinrake’s Thirsk and Malton constituency and coming under the remit of Scarborough’s Robert Goodwill MP.
The changes are being made to reduce the cost to the taxpayers and to make the system fairer by trying to even out the number of voters in each seat.
Members of the public have been asked to make representations to the commission on what they think the new seat should be called.
Suggestions range from ‘Yorkshire Coast’ to simply ‘Scarborough’.
However, Mr Goodwill has written to the commission stating he believes the name should reflect the entire area.
He told The Mercury: “I have suggested that the constituency should be called ‘Scarborough, Whitby and Filey’ to give the three towns equal prominence.
“I think it makes sense to move Filey into the Scarborough constituency as I get many emails and letters from people in the Filey area who just assume I’m their MP due to the council area.
“Kevin Hollinrake has done a wonderful job for Filey since he became an MP but Filey is a long way from Thirsk.
“Filey, Scarborough and Whitby all have similar issues facing them with regard to tourism, fishing and coastal erosion that I think this solution is the best for all involved.”
The commission will close its consultation this month, with a decision due on the changes and the names due in the near future. A piece of vital life-saving equipment is now in situ at RSPB Bempton Cliffs Seabird Centre, thanks to the generosity and dedication of a Yorkshire lady.
Pat Gardner’s husband, Terry, died suddenly in the street in 2009 and since then she has been raising money in his memory to install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at sites across the county. Pat has, so far, raised funds for 13 defibrillators and RSPB Bempton Cliffs is the latest recipient. All the defibrillators have been placed in historic, heritage and countryside locations – many of which Pat and Terry enjoyed visiting together.
Pat said: “I really wanted to find a useful way of keeping Terry’s memory alive, and funding defibrillators seemed the perfect solution.”
Alison Barratt, RSPB Bempton Cliffs’ site manager, said: “One of the things that makes RSPB Bempton Cliffs so special isitsfairlyremotelocation, so having this equipment available on site could mean the difference between life and death.”