Efforts to restore iconic venue closer to target

With Good Friday almost upon us, I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Whether you’re visiting family, planning a trip, or just taking some time to yourself, I hope you are all able to relax and make the most of the long weekend.

In local news, I want to congratulate the Selsey Pavilion Trust on its welcome funding announcement. The Selsey Pavilion is an amazing piece of local history on the High Street, built in 1913 as a place to dance, dine, and watch shows, until the early hours of the morning. The Pavilion has unfortunately fallen out of use in recent times, however, thanks to a successful award of almost £300,000 through the Government’s Community

Ownership Fund, I’m delighted that the Trust's efforts to restore this iconic venue are now much closer to its target.

I was pleased to lend my full support to the Selsey Pavilion Trust’s bid for the Government scheme and I know the whole community will be delighted by the news. The Pavilion is well loved by the local community and it’s exciting to see the Trust’s ambitions for the site. I want to thank the Trust and its supporters for their work on this bid and I look forward to seeing the Selsey Pavilion restored to its former glory.

I wanted to also remind everyone that the April 25 deadline for applying for the new Voter Authority Certificate is now only a few weeks away. Last year, Parliament voted to clamp down on instances of voter fraud and increase the security of our elections. As part of those measures, everyone will need to bring along a valid form of ID on election day, starting with this May’s local elections.

I know the vast majority of people will already have some form of ID and so won’t need the new certificate, but for anyone who is unsure, I would urge you to check out the Electoral Commission’s dedicated page at electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/ voter/voter-id. There, you can find more information on all accepted forms of ID and the process for applying for a certificate. Alternatively, if you don’t have access to a computer, I would be more than happy to help in any way that I can. You can contact my office on 0207 219 1193.