The Coronation was a momentous and glorious occasion. I cannot believe how quickly it came around after weeks of preparation and excitement. I wanted our area to make a contribution, so I organised a competition with local primary schools to design a Coronation card for The King. As always, I had a tough time choosing between some fantastic entries but Lorcan from Spellbrook Primary School’s design was eventually crowned the worthy winner. His classmate, Lexie’s, was the runner-up. It was wonderful to surprise them both at school with the good news myself - their excitement was priceless! I have since posted the card to Buckingham Palace and am confident His Majesty will have been just as impressed.
I went on to join the festivities at St Elizabeth’s in Much Hadham afterwards. I have worked with the staff there, residents and their families for many years and remain a huge supporter of the centre’s work. It is an incredible place that specialises in supporting children and adults with severe neuro-disabilities, complex epilepsy and learning disabilities - their services are renowned in Hertfordshire and across the country. It was lovely to mark such a momentous occasion together and I look forward to many more events at St Elizabeth’s to come.
Herts-based charity Helping Herts recently completed their 180-mile Coronation Walk around the county. It was great to support walkers myself during a quick rest break at the Prince of Wales, Green Tye. Everyone was in high spirits! They completed their challenge for lots of fantastic causes - 12 local charities that help children and young people. Please take a look at their website to support and find out more.
I am all too aware that the issues at Stortford Fields need to be resolved. That is why I have visited the site and met with residents, developers and planners over the course of many months now. I continue to work with everyone involved to push for real progress and can now share an update on two of the most current issues as a result. A consultancy firm has been appointed to review the work so far to establish the Stortford Fields Company and provide a clear strategy to bring arrangements into line. A third-party landscaper is also assessing why planting at the site failed and how this will be rectified going forwards. Though progress up until this point has been frustratingly slow, things are starting to move in the right direction. I will continue to work on this and provide updates.
In Ware, I visited Chauncy School’s Head with the Executive Member for Education from Herts County Council to discuss any issues they are experiencing, especially regarding Special Educational Needs provision and funding. This is an issue in Hertfordshire I have campaigned on in Westminster for a long time now. I will continue to follow up on everything raised and feedback concerns to ministers as a priority.