Rother Valley MP says Government must listen to public fears on fracking

I was contacted earlier this month by many constituents asking me to attend the Westminster Hall debate on fracking, which I duly did, writes Sir Kevin Barron, MP for Rother Valley.
Sir Kevin Barron MPSir Kevin Barron MP
Sir Kevin Barron MP

Unfortunately the debate was only for half an hour but I did manage to intervene to raise the concerns of residents in Harthill and Woodsetts.

I called for a moratorium on fracking due to research that was carried out by Downing Street advisor, Prof Peter Styles, who suggested that historic coal mining data had been overlooked or ignored.

In my opinion it is not acceptable for the Government to carry on over-ruling local council planning decisions without the full picture.

I was pleased to receive a phone call from the Secretary of State James Brokenshire MP, informing me that Government-appointed commissioners will have left Rotherham Council this week.

This means that all decision making will return entirely to the democratically-elected councillors.

Whilst I acknowledge the council still faces challenges, the fact that the councillors are now back in charge is testimony to all the hard work that has been carried out over the past few years.

The announcement comes on the back of the Good Ofsted report for children’s services earlier in the year.

That children’s services have been transformed has been a critical indicator of the changes that have been made.

It has been announced that work has begun on the Gulliver’s family theme park, which hopes to open to the public in spring 2020.

The park will be situated on the former Pithouse West site between Wales Bar and Aston, providing much needed employment and economic growth.

You can keep up to date with developments via the Gulliver’s valley website and Facebook page.