Jake Berry

MP for Rossendale

FREE Press readers may have spotted some new signs popping up across the Rossendale Valley over recent weeks proclaiming that from May 2022 a ‘Clean Air Zone’ is only two miles down the road.

Unfortunately these harmless looking signs could be about to cost people in Rossendale a lot of money.

Let me be clear. The Greater Manchester ‘Clean Air Zone’ is an unfair and ill-thought out congestion charge and I oppose it.

I am joining thousands of local people calling on Labour’s Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to rethink his plans. I am also working with neighbouring Conservative MPs to lobby Ministers for urgent changes to be made.

Labour’s Andy Burnham is proposing “pausing” his Clean Air Zone for vehicles inside Greater Manchester, but continuing with it for vehicles in places like Rossendale, while failing to provide any financial support for our local businesses, despite being given £132 million by the Government for that purpose!

There needs to be a proper pause of the Clean Air Zone, for vehicles inside and outside Greater Manchester and a total rethink of the whole plan. Otherwise, jobs across Rossendale and the whole region will be put at risk.

I had a very useful visit to Royal Blackburn Hospital last week to talk with NHS staff about the latest situation at the hospital. It was encouraging to hear that the number of people with Covid in the hospital is falling and that the number of those who are seriously ill with the virus was low.

Interestingly the vast majority of those becoming very ill with the virus were not fully vaccinated. A reminder to us all, that it’s not too late to get your vaccination.

Another critical issue at the moment is the cost of living.

I know from talking to staff at my visit last week to Citizens Advice in Bacup and also to residents on my regular street surgeries that this is a real concern.

That’s why I’ve called on the Government to do three things that I believe would help put money back in the pockets of local people.

Freeze Council Tax; scrap the National Insurance rise on the first £12,000 of people’s earnings and also to cut the green energy taxes from our gas and electric bills.

This simple, three-point plan would put hundreds of pounds back into your pocket and demonstrate it is the Conservative Party that is the true party of the North and in touch and on the side of our hardpressed working families.

Finally, it’s good to see the first plans unveiled for the next round of improvements to Bacup town centre, including Union Street and the Remembrance Gardens on Burnley Road. It’s important that local people have their say on them.

The plans are online on Rossendale Council’s website or Facebook page and paper copies are available at Futures Park and I’d encourage anyone with an interest in the future of Bacup to have a look and feed back their thoughts to the Council.