Over the summer months, I have been out and about delivering my transport and housing surveys around Maidstone and The Weald. The response has been overwhelming and, whilst they are still flowing in, I wanted to provide an update on some of the action I am already taking having analysed the replies so far.

It won’t be a surprise to anyone that congestion is people’s number one transport concern. I am doing everything I can to urge our Local Authorities to do more to tackle this issue and will be meeting with Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council in the coming weeks to discuss the matter once more. Furthermore, there was substantial support in the responses for a Southern Relief Road and my campaign for this to be implemented as a sustainable solution to Maidstone’s congestion woes will continue.

On trains, whilst people are relatively satisfied with the punctuality of our services, they are understandably disappointed with the quality and diversity of choice on offer. I have therefore written to the Secretary of State for Transport and asked him to confirm the Government’s commitment to implementing our new City Service from Maidstone East. I will also be continuing my efforts to ensure that our precious High-Speed Services from Maidstone West are preserved.

On housing, the message is clear. Whilst people recognise the need for more homes to be built; they do not wish it to be at the expense of our unique rural communities. I will therefore continue to only support housing developments which are in the right numbers, in the right places and, crucially, supported by the required infrastructure.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my survey so far; I will be using your feedback to inform my future work. In the meantime, my campaign to ensure that our community has the transport infrastructure it desperately requires continues unabated.